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Withtheprospectofover300GWofnewassembly
generation for the industrial development of the
LAC region. Among the alternatives, the recycling
of panels and other photovoltaic equipment is
a segment with potential growth in nations that
import the technology. As the global photovoltaic
market increases, so does the volume of
decommissioned photovoltaic panels, so large
amounts of annual waste are predicted for the
early 2030s. The increasing waste of photovoltaic
panels presents a new environmental challenge,
but also opportunities to create value and seek
new niches for economic development.
plants in China, its market share is expected to
remain high in the medium term, even if the trend
towards productive expansion of equipment in
India, Vietnam, Thailand, the United States and
European Union. It is important to highlight that
international trade volumes of photovoltaic solar
energy depend heavily on domestic demand
in China, as the country is the largest producer
and consumer of polysilicon, wafers, cells and
modules, dictating the pace of market evolution
today.
It is worth mentioning that, between 2017-2021,
Southeast Asian module manufacturers were
responsible for 1/3 of global photovoltaic module
exports, mainly to serve the United States and
European Union markets, where Chinese modules
were subject to several commercial restrictions.
The rest of the market was dominated by China,
with its shares in India and Brazil exceeding 90%.
In Latin America, installations were records in
2022, with an increase in module imports across
the region, which, together with high prices for this
equipment in 2021, resulted in more than doubling
its net import bill that year.
According to IRENA data, recycling or reusing
solar photovoltaic panels at the end of their useful
life of approximately 30 years could generate an
estimated stock of 78 million tons of raw materials
and other valuable components by 2050. If fully
injected back into the economy, the value of the
recovered material could exceed US$15 billion by
2050, which gives rise to the process of reverse
logistics within a circular economy. It is noted
that sectors such as photovoltaic recycling will
be essential in the global transition to a future of
expanding the use of sustainable and economically
viable energy (IRENA, 2016).
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In this scenario, in 2021, China and countries in
the Asia-Pacific region benefited significantly from
higher rates of demand and prices, earning record
revenues from sales of photovoltaic generation
equipment. In view of the data presented, China’s
dominance throughout the production chain of
equipment for the generation of photovoltaic solar
energy is clear. The country has high technology,
scale and production rate, which allows them to
be the largest supplier of different components
to the segment globally. Therefore, in regions
such as Latin America and the Caribbean, where
there is dependence on photovoltaic technology
equipment, it is difficult for national companies
belonging to this industry to emerge to meet
local demand, given that the sector in China is
consolidated and has advantages arising from
the interconnection of the chain, with already
dominated consumer markets.
In Brazil, the company Sun R is an example of
a company that recycles generation modules.
The process consists of dismantling, separating
materials (aluminum, glass, connectors) and
subsequent chemical treatment of the rest of the
materials, so that the silver, copper and silicon can
be extracted, ensuring the appropriate disposal
of each element. Thus, with the reverse logistics
and recycling process, around 90% of materials
can be reused and reinserted into the module
production cycle.
Inadditiontothisspecificmarketniche,itispossible
to envisage the possibility of Chinese companies,
dominant in the global market, expanding industrial
plants to LAC. In this way, through the installation
of industries in the segment in countries in the
region, part of the continental demand could be
met by local production. This movement could
be a way for Latin America to increase local
industry, based on the energy transition, gaining
the benefits that the industrial sector is known
to provide, such as generation of qualified jobs,
In any case, certain market niches can become
an alternative to taking advantage of the
energy transition and expansion of photovoltaic
