Post on 11-Apr-2018
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EU PVSEC 2016, Parallel Event – End‐of‐Life Management – Photovoltaic PanelsAndreas Wade, Global Sustainability Director
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First Solar at a Glance
Driving innovation across entire value chain and plant solution
Cost competitive with conventional energy sources today
Partner of choice for leading utilities and global power buyers
Over 10GW installed worldwide and over 3GW contracted pipeline
1st Global PV Module Recycling Program in the Industry
Strongest financial stability & bankability in the industry
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Providing the leading eco‐efficient PV technology
• Higher energy yields at a competitive cost
• Lowest externalities and energy pricing on a total cost basis
• Smallest carbon footprint and air pollutants
• Lowest life cycle water use
• Fastest energy payback time < 1 year
• Industry leading PV recycling program
Creating more value with less environmental impact per kWh generated.
First Solar is the Leading Choice in Eco-Efficient Energy Solutions
Cost Competitive
Superior Energy Yield
Lowest Environmental
Impact
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First Solar is Committed to Environmental Stewardship
• Providing value‐driven energy solutions that protect and enhance the environment
• Committed to responsible product life cycle and end‐of‐life management
• Ensuring solutions to clean energy do not pose a burden on future generations
• Leading the industry with proven recycling solutions
• Fulfilling solar’s promise as a clean and sustainable renewable source of energy
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Crucial to managing large future PV waste volumes— Over 177 GW PV installed worldwide
Recycling is important for all PV technologies — Environmentally sensitive materials are common
in the industry (Pb, Cd, In, Se, Ag…)
Provides socio‐economic and environmental benefits— Minimizes life cycle impacts
— Reclaims valuable and energy intensive materials
— Creates jobs and economic benefits
— Inclusion of PV in the EU WEEE Directive is expected to yield ~ 16.5 billion EUR in 2050
Recycling maximizes resource recovery and increases the sustainability of PV.
Why Does High-Value PV Recycling Matter?
REN21, Renewables Global Status Report, 2014
3,7 5,1 7 916
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177
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2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014Gi
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Global Cumulative PV Capacity
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First Solar’s Long-Standing Leadership and Commitment to Recycling
• Established 1st global and comprehensive module recycling program in the PV industry in 2005
• Recycling facilities are operational in Germany, Malaysia, and the USA
— Total annual recycling capacity of ~26,000 MT
— Scalable to accommodate future high volumes
• Continuously improving processes and technology and reducing operational costs
First Solar is the industry leader in responsible module end-of-life management.
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Ensuring the recyclability of our products is integral to our R&D process.
First Solar Product Development Approach
• Strive for continuous improvement of our technologies while ensuring recyclability
— Recyclability is fully integrated in module design
— Product development budget allocates funds for recycling process upgrades
— Technology improvement projects are tracked through Change Management System (CMS)
— Module improvement projects require timely implementation of recycling process upgrades
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First Solar’s Module Recycling Process+ 90% Recycling of semiconductor material~ 90% Recycling of glass
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First Solar‘s Recycling Technology Evolution
V1 Recycling (2005) V2 Recycling (2011) V3 Recycling (2015)
• Batch Leaching at room temp
• Rotary Leaching Reactor
• Volume output: 10 tons/day
• Plant size at 350 tpd > 30k m²
• Batch Leaching at room temp
• Stationary Leaching Reactor
• Volume output: 30 tons/day
• Plant size at 350 tpd = 30k m²
• Continuous leaching at high temperature
• Monorail Roller Coaster Reactor
• Volume output: 150 tons/day
• Plant size at 350 tpd < 4k m²
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V2 V3V1 V‐MobileV 4
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Recycling Prod
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Normalized
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/Mod
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First Solar Recycling Normalized Cost Trend Recycling Process Normalized Cost Recycling Production (MT/Wk)
Continuously Driving Down Costs for Sustainable PV Recycling
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— Environmentally Responsible
— Minimizes life cycle impacts and reduces the carbon footprint and energy payback time of PV modules
— Maximizes resource recovery: over 90% of semiconductor material and 90% of glass
Commercially attractive
— No up‐front fees: modules can be recycled using later year project cash flows
— Renewable pricing adjusts RSA price as recycling costs decrease
— Globally Available
— Convenient way of helping you meet various regulatory and permitting requirements
Benefits of First Solar’s Recycling Program
First Solar is the single source for all your PV power plant needs.