In February, non-profit EU solar panel recycling body PV Cycle announced it had collected 5,000 tons of modules in France, of which 94.7% could be recycled. A reader asked us about the remaining 5.3% and here, PV Cycle’s communications manager, Bertrand Lempkowicz, responds.

What is circular manufacturing, why is it important, and how is it being applied in the solar and storage industries? pv magazine’s UP initiative investigates.

EVA films are a key barrier to solar module recycling because of the glues involved in their use. An EU-funded research project is aiming to address the issue, among others, with a circular manufacturing approach. pv magazine spoke to two of the professionals involved in the EU-backed Cabriss project.

Amid a growing appetite for sustainability from customers, Lithuanian solar panel maker Solitek is applying circular principles to its production operations. Measures include embracing digitalization and new approaches to design. Project manager Tadas Radavičius has spoken to pv magazine about the company’s work and how Solitek is supporting European projects which are considering circular solar.

SunCrafter is a small German startup with a global ambition: to alleviate energy poverty by upcycling used solar PV modules. Having established an innovative business model, which sees it subsidizing its goals by meeting the infrastructure needs of big events and festivals, it has now partnered with EU-funded project Circusol to demonstrate the viability of circular renewables. pv magazine interviewed SunCrafter CEO and co-founder Lisa Wendzich as part of the UP initiative’s circular manufacturing quarterly theme.

Recent events have demonstrated the inadequacy of simply not being racist. We must actively speak out in support of non-white colleagues, peers, friends and fellow human beings. We must collectively work to effect systemic change against racism. At pv magazine, I want to use my voice as an editor, and leader of the UP initiative, to stand together with the Black Lives Matter movement and all people of color. I want to actively combat racism using our online and print platforms and global networks, to raise these issues, promote positive change and ensure we represent people of all colors and creeds in our business.

Solar PV is on track to become a terawatt-scale industry. With this opportunity comes challenges, particularly when future raw material and manufacturing volumes are considered. For progress to be made, sustainability becomes a crucial issue. Already the first global sustainability standard for solar modules and inverters has been introduced, and it is likely mandatory measures will be applied in Europe via the Ecodesign directive. Ahead of the upcoming pv magazine Roundtable on sustainability, SMA answers some key questions about certification.

The airline industry has been among the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic; carriers are in ‘freefall’ as Glen Peters, research director at the Center for International Climate and Environment Research in Oslo recently wrote, with governments mulling stimulus packages for airline bailouts. How we react to the coronavirus outbreak is crucial for society as a whole and the solar and energy storage industries can lead the charge in rewriting the status quo.

Described as “historic”, the draft outlines the future climate protection course of the European Union. Overall, the EU should become climate neutral by 2050, and trigger €1 trillion in investment. €100 billion is expected to be made available for the transition. This is to be formalized in a climate law in the coming months. Although solar was noticeably absent in the draft, plans have been detailed by SolarPower Europe as to how it could be included.

As part of the UP sustainability initiative, pv magazine has, for the first time, introduced an annual sustainability award. After much deliberation, our esteemed jurors reached their final decision. Read on to see who has been crowned 2019’s green champion.