Webinar: Solar PV Reuse & Recycling - How human behavior affects the fate of aging solar panels

By 2050, as much as 80 million metric tons globally of solar photovoltaics could reach their end-of-life. There is growing interest among industry players to develop a circular economy.

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The goal is to maximize the value of solar PV materials while minimizing waste. What is the potential value, and how could human behavior help or hinder that value? This webinar covers key findings from a recent study conducted by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) that considers consumer awareness and behavior as part of the solution to accelerate the adoption of circular economy approaches.

Julien Walzberg, the study’s lead researcher, will share how PV owners, installers, recyclers, and manufacturers choose to repair, reuse, recycle, landfill, or store an aging PV module under varying scenarios.

In this webinar, you will learn:

• Agent-based modeling of PV EOL management
• Future economic potential and the effects of human behavior
• Current conditions and what needs to change to maximize value into the future 

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Duration:  54:53 minutes

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Additional Resource:

• Full Study: Role of the social factors in success of solar photovoltaic reuse and recycle programmes

Speakers:

Julien Walzberg is a postdoctoral researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) (Colorado) and is also an alumnus of the Ellen Macarthur Foundation “From linear to circular” program. His current research focuses on modeling socio-technical systems in the context of the circular economy. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Polytechnique Montréal. His Ph.D. thesis focused on using agent-based modeling to represent human behaviors in life cycle assessment. Julien’s research has been published in numerous academic journals, including Nature Energy and Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, and presented at various international conferences.

Melissa Ann Schmid is the Marketing Communication Manager at EnergyBin. She is committed to advancing an environmentally and socially responsible secondary solar market. Melissa completed a Master’s in International Business at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota focusing her thesis research on strategic corporate social responsibility initiatives and the role of for-profit/non-profit partnerships in today’s global economy. Melissa has published in the Social Responsibility Journal, the Journal of Business, Society, and Government, enerG Magazine, Solar Power World, North American Clean Energy, Resource Recycling, and PV Magazine USA. Melissa has broad work experience serving in strategic planning and marketing roles across multiple industries.