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Solar energy will only live up to its tremendous environmental and sustainability potential if the industry tackles its waste challenge. How big is the problem?
According to the US Dept. of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), some 80 million metric tons of solar photovoltaics (PV) worldwide could reach end of life by 2050. And that's not counting the inevitable waste created by packaging materials and damaged or defective panels during construction or installation.
In today's podcast, Emilie Oxel O'Leary shares how her Marietta, Georgia-based company, Green Clean Solar, diverts broken solar panels and related debris at utility-scale solar sites from landfills. By partnering with recycling companies, the commercial waste management and landfill diversion business reduces waste and conserves resources by recovering and reusing materials.
Emilie's understanding of the solar industry's waste problem stemmed from the success of her earlier venture, Sunshine Solar, a mechanical installation company. Founded in 2016, it gained utility-scale accounts with companies like Target, L'Oréal and Amazon in its first two years.
"When you're starting with one- to three-megawatt projects, maybe five megawatts, and then all of a sudden, you're dealing with 50, 60 to 100 megawatts, it's a whole other ballgame. It's like going from the minors to the major leagues," she said, adding that everything requires massive coordination and planning between multiple vendors and contractors.
During a site visit to a 106-megawatt project, she was overwhelmed by accumulations of trash.
"The waste is just going everywhere. Our guys are so good, but they don't care about the trash because they're there to reach a milestone — to build this site in a very short time. The waste was not their concern.
“My client was sending me emails about the trash, and I was getting frustrated because it was, and I didn't know what to do with it. I'm like, holy crap. There's so much going so fast. And it's there's no process to it. My client was getting frustrated, and I was getting frustrated. And that motivated me to acknowledge 'this is a problem [so] there has to be a solution — somewhere, somehow."
Just before the pandemic began in January 2020, Emilie sold the business. She remained CEO until she launched Green Clean Solar in early 2022.
She said Green Clean Solar’s mission is to provide utility-scale solar customers with the resources to address waste problems while supporting a diverse workforce.
Green Clean Solar focuses on the eastern United States. With its extensive experience in commercial solar fields, rooftops, and canopies, Emilie said it understands the types of waste generated and the problems it creates. She added that it owns all the necessary tools and equipment to be a turnkey solution for trash removal from sites.
Recycling eliminates the risk that clean energy solutions will pose a waste burden for future generations during construction and as projects reach end-of-life. It's an essential topic for anyone interested in solar energy growth, so tune in to learn more.
NOTEWORTHY QUOTEs:
“We did an amazing project in Miami, and we had 22 truckloads 100% of the commissioning, it was a power site. We recycled everything 100% of that. And even the concrete containers, we were we able to recycle that we had over 5000 lithium ion batteries, we recycled.”
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ABOUT THE HOST OF SUNCAST:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, consistently rated a top solar podcast in the clean energy sector. The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for insights on where the markets are headed, how to position themselves or their companies, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is an Investor, Executive Coach, and 16-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.
You can connect with Nico Johnson on Twitter, LinkedIn or email.
If you’ve been second-guessing your work decisions or maybe trying to reconsider how you "fit" in the renewable energy industry -> grab 20 minutes on Nico's calendar and discuss whether having him as Your personal coach might be the right next step.