Source: pv magazine Global
Germany's rapid solar deployment is creating an acute recycling infrastructure problem that most European countries aren't prepared to solve at scale. The Fraunhofer study highlights a gap between installation targets and end-of-life capacity: panels installed during the 2010s boom will hit decommissioning simultaneously, overwhelming existing recycling plants designed for smaller volumes. Europe faces a choice between investing in recycling infrastructure now or accepting that valuable silicon, glass, and metals will be landfilled—undermining the circular economy claims central to European green industrial policy.