Powering the circular economy

At ElecSome, a solar panel upcycling plant based in Victoria, solar panels are broken down into their component materials, which are then used to create new products.

These include SolarCrete, a pre-mixed concrete product that uses a nano-engineered blend containing solar panel glass fines to replace a portion of aggregates, allowing cement mix manufacturers to save 50–80% of the precious and limited river sand typically used in these products.

ElecSome also upcycles other parts of solar panels, including silicon wafers, which are mined for reuse as PV/battery-grade silicon; electric conductors for reuse in electrical appliances; high-value silver and copper; and aluminium frames repurposed for cans and other solar panel frames. Plastics and polymers from the panels are directed into established sustainable recycling channels.

Robins Ranjan, Logistics and Supply Chain Manager, ElecSome, with the solar panel upcycling facility’s deframing machine.

When looking for a switchboard supplier, ElecSome chose Clean Tech Controls, an Australian company with a mission to support the nation’s transition to clean energy through electrification.

“With ElecSome’s sustainable vision, it was important that we partnered with a switchboard company with similar values. Clean Tech Controls does extensive work in the renewables industry, so it was a great fit for us,” said Robins Ranjan, Logistics and Supply Chain Manager at ElecSome.

Solar PV recycling in Australia

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Australia will have one of the most significant PV recycling opportunities in the world, with approximately 3000–10,000 tonnes of solar panel components per year expected by 2025 and 100,000 tonnes by 2035.

Clean Tech Controls Managing Director Steve Bell said this level of opportunity shows just how important the ElecSome facility will be. “So far, we are up to around 32% of total electricity generation coming from renewables in Australia, and 14% of that is coming from PV,” he said.

“As we roll out more solar in future, there will be more demand to recycle panels.

“ElecSome has created an innovative and efficient solution that reuses 97% of the materials, and we are delighted to partner with such a sustainable and forward-looking company. They’re making clean energy even cleaner.”

Powering key processes

Clean Tech Controls provided main switchboards, distribution boards and mechanical boards to ElecSome.

ElecSome has a handling capacity of 5 tonnes per hour, which translates to about 250 solar panels per hour, or a total capacity of one million panels per annum.

Clean Tech Controls’ main switchboards, distribution boards and mechanical boards power key equipment in the facility, including the shredder, deframing machine, metal separator, bagging unit and a vortex machine to turn shredded material into glass-grade sand.

These switchboards include:

• the 1600 A main switchboard, which connects the site to the grid, meters the power and integrates the rooftop solar and backup generator;
• the 1600 A 3.6 m-wide main distribution board, supplying power to different circuits and smaller distribution boards over the site;
• the 400 A mechanical switchboard, powering the machinery and running the motors onsite;
• the 800 A temporary generator switchboard, connecting the genset to power the site before the mains was connected.
   

“The processes at our facility are very particular — so to keep delivering upcycled product, we don’t want downtime. That’s where having quality reliable switchboard products is important, and Clean Tech Controls has delivered this for ElecSome,” Ranjan said.

Top image caption: Australian solar panel upcycling plant ElecSome.