Solar projects are built to generate clean energy, but construction and operations can also generate materials that need to be managed responsibly. At a solar site in Maysville, Georgia, broken and damaged solar panels created a need for a responsible recycling solution, bringing in Green Clean Solar, a Georgia-based, woman-owned company specializing in solar waste management, recycling, and landfill diversion.

Rather than allowing broken panels and other solar-related materials to become landfill waste, Green Clean Solar developed a recovery and recycling solution to collect the damaged panels, coordinate transportation, and ensure the materials were directed toward responsible downstream recycling.
The project highlights an increasingly important issue facing the rapidly growing solar industry: what happens to the panels that don’t make it to the end of their useful life?

For Emilie O’Leary, founder and CEO of Green Clean Solar, the answer is simple: they shouldn’t automatically go to a landfill.

“We love seeing new solar projects being built across the country, but we also have to acknowledge that broken panels are part of the process,” said O’Leary. “Panels can be damaged during transportation, handling, construction or other phases of a project. When that happens, we need to have a plan. These panels still contain valuable materials, and they deserve an opportunity to be recovered and recycled.”

The importance of responsible solar recycling is shared by the customers Green Clean Solar serves. Parker Persons, project engineer with Inman Solar , explained why recycling damaged modules is an important part of their sustainability strategy.

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