Closing the Loop: Recycling, Circularity and Responsible Procurement in Solar

Synopsis

As Europe’s first generation of large solar projects begins to reach repowering and replacement cycles, recycling has moved from a niche topic to a procurement and compliance priority. EU regulation already places panels under the WEEE framework with producer responsibility obligations, while upcoming policy changes and circular economy initiatives are pushing the industry toward higher material recovery, traceability, and design-for-recycling standards. At the same time, economics remain challenging due to logistics costs, limited processing capacity, and immature secondary material markets

• How project owners plan for repowering, decommissioning, and recycling obligations across the asset lifecycle
• The role of recycling technology and equipment in improving recovery rates for glass, silicon, and critical metals
• Regulation, extended producer responsibility, and what compliance means in practice for developers and EPCs
• Reverse logistics, cross-border waste movement, and scaling recycling capacity across Europe
• Design for circularity, material traceability, and how manufacturing choices affect end-of-life outcomes
• Where the economics work today and what must change to make recycling commercially sustainable