Intro to Part 1: This is the first in a two-part series exploring the rising challenge of clean technology waste. As solar panels and wind turbines reach end-of-life, the world faces a new environmental threat: the enormous volume of hard-to-recycle renewable energy waste.

As we race toward a net-zero future, sustainable energies continue to become ever more prominent in our energy mix. These technologies are a synonym for progress in the eyes of most, but the “popularity podium” for renewable energy technologies undoubtedly goes to solar panels and wind turbines. Despite the noise — mainly political — around the future of these technologies, they continue to represent the focus for most growing economies seeking to decarbonise and electrify our consumption.

However, these technologies are not new, nor do they last forever. Our oldest solar panels and wind turbines have been around for over 25 years, and so we encounter our problem...

A life after death

After these technologies reach their end of life, what happens to them?

By 2050, the world could be dealing with over 78 and 40 million metric tons of solar panel and turbine blade waste, respectively [1], [2].

We proudly celebrate the steps taken towards a complete clean energy transition, but sustainable technology loses its value if the systems around it are not designed sustainably too. A rapid and silent waste crisis, even larger than we already face, is approaching.

But threats entice action, and where there is a challenge with grave potential consequences, a new door opens — one of opportunity for sustainable entrepreneurs to lead a new wave of circular innovation.

Chapter 1: The renewable waste crisis

Solar panels: a surge in toxic waste

Current solar photovoltaic (PV) panels typically last 25–30 years. But early adopters from the 1990s and 2000s are now discarding their aging systems. As mentioned previously, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that cumulative global PV waste could hit 78 million metric tonnes by 2050; that’s approximately twice the weight of the Great Wall of China, or 8,000 Eiffel Towers [1].

Silicon PV panels are mostly made from glass and 99.99999% pure silicon; other alternatives such as perovskite, ink-dyed, or tandem cells, have even more complex chemistries and structures. Regardless of the nature of the panel, they are difficult to recycle due to the complexity of their engineering — in most cases, they are rich in critical raw materials  such as cadmium, indium, and other toxic substances.

The sad outcome is that only around 10% of a solar panel’s waste is currently recycled, and this is expected to increase by over forty times the current amount within the next decade [3]–[5].

Wind turbines: blades too tough to break

Wind turbine projects are capital-intensive, large-scale infrastructure investments, designed to last over 20 years. These projects provide a clean and largely reliable source of energy, and while the durability and robustness of blade design represents a benefit for the operational lifetime of the farm, it becomes a serious problem during decommissioning. While 85–95% of turbine mass is metal (steel, aluminium, or copper), the real difficulty lies in the recycling of the blades.

Turbine blades are made from fiberglass-reinforced composites, which are non-biodegradable and extremely difficult to recycle. This has led to a scenario where it is projected that up to 78% of all currently installed turbines will end up in landfill or incineration if nothing changes, and fast [6].

It is easy to see how the future of blade recycling has an “all roads lead to Rome” solution: the future is in turbine blades that are easier (and cheaper) to break down into re-usable precursors or raw materials.

Projects such as the ZEBRA Project Consortium from France or DecomBlades from Denmark have made significant leaps towards a scalable rollout of recyclable blades. Thus far, these programmes have demonstrated technical feasibility in designing a 100% recyclable blade, but further steps are still required to reach scalable commercialisation of the process and take over the market (in other words, it is still too expensive) [7]–[10].

The scale of the renewable waste crisis is clear - and the structural and technological obstacles standing in the way of sustainable recycling are significant. In Part 2, we’ll explore the drivers behind this lack of preparedness — and, more importantly, where the opportunity lies for entrepreneurs to reshape the future through innovation.

References

[1] IRENA, End-of-life Management: Solar Photovoltaic Panels , 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.irena.org/publications/2016/Jun/End-of-life-management-Solar-Photovoltaic-Panels
[2] IEA Wind Task 25, Wind Energy in the Circular Economy , 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.ieawind.org/task25
[3] MIT Technology Review, “Solar panel recycling is about to become big business,” 2021.
[4] Solar&StorageXTRA, “Global Recycling Day 2025: The ins and outs of solar panel recycling,” 2025.
[5] The Solar Recycling Company, “Solar Panel Recycling Problems That You Might Face,” 2021.
[6] Triple Pundit, “How Innovators Are Solving the Wind Industry’s Recycling Problem,” 2024.
[7] LM Wind Power, “ZEBRA project launched to develop first 100% recyclable wind turbine blades,” 2021.
[8] LM Wind Power, “LM Wind Power Unveils Second Recyclable Wind Turbine Blade Under ZEBRA Project,” 2022.
[9] Arkema Global, “Breakthrough in Wind Turbine Blade Recycling: ZEBRA Project Demonstrates Closed-Loop System,” 2023.
[10] DecomBlades, “Wind industry blade decommissioning.” [Online]. Available: https://decomblades.dk
[11] National Grid, “Can wind turbine blades be recycled?” 2023.
[12] BBC News, “When wind turbine blades get old, what’s next?” 2024.
[13] The Solar Recycling Company, “Solar Panel Recycling Problems That You Might Face,” 2021.
[14] Delfos, “Reuse, recycling and disposal of wind turbine parts: An investigation into industry practices,” 2025.
[15] World Bank, Minerals for Climate Action: The Mineral Intensity of the Clean E