Dive Brief:
- Silfab Solar expanded its glass recycling partnership list by signing a new purchase agreement with Solarcycle in an effort to reach its sustainability goals.
- Under the agreement, Silfab will send its older or underperforming glass modules to Solarcycle for recycling. Solarcycle will then sell the glass back to Silfab, which will use the recycled parts to produce its solar panels.
- The agreement comes a month after Solarcycle announced its plans to establish a $344 million solar glass manufacturing facility in Cedartown, Georgia, 300 miles from Silfab’s new $150 million solar panel manufacturing plant in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
Dive Insight:
The two solar industry firms' partnership will not only help grow their buyer-supplier relationship, but also contribute to their sustainability goals.
Using Solarcycle’s low-carbon glass will help Silfab reduce its manufacturing climate impact by over 30%, according to the release. One way the solar panel maker is trying to achieve that is by working with third-party recyclers verified by the Solar Energy Industry Association, the company said in its 2022 ESG Impact Report.
Silfab’s Fort Mills facility is expected to open in Q3 of this year and will add 1 gigawatt cell production and another 1.3 gigawatts of module production, according to the solar panel maker’s release. Solarcycle’s Cedartown facility is expected to begin operations in 2026.
“Solarcycle is an ideal partner because of its demonstrated success and innovative processes that already have made Silfab a more sustainable operation,” Silfab President and CEO Paolo Maccario said in a statement. “Utilizing American-produced glass in our PV modules further meets the county’s demands for USA content in made-in-America clean energy products and creates additional U.S. jobs.”
The added proximity will also help reduce the companies' shipping climate impact by more than 50%, according to the release.
Silfab is the latest customer that will benefit from Solarcycle’s upcoming Georgia facility. Last month, Solarcycle signed an agreement with Qcells. Qcells' two Georgia facilities in Dalton and Cartersville will supply panels for Solarcycle to reuse.
