In Part 1, we looked at the scale of the looming waste crisis in solar panels and wind turbine blades. Now, in Part 2, we explore the deeper causes of this issue and the key role of entrepreneurs to lead the transition to a circular economy.

Chapter 2: Why are we so unprepared?

Despite the looming crisis, global recycling systems for cleantech remain immature. A range of different factors contribute to this, which can be split into two categories: (i) geo-political and economic barriers, and (ii) an ‘intention-to-action’ disconnect.

Geo-political and Economic Barriers

These refer to practical and objective systemic hurdles that prevent recycling/recyclable technologies from gaining market leadership. These include:

• Lack of regulation: Most regions lack mandatory laws for the recycling of solar panels or wind turbine blades at the end of their lifetimes. While some countries such as Germany and the Netherlands have banned sending turbine blades to landfill [11], [12], this doesn’t solve the issue at hand, which is the unfeasibility of turbine blade recycling as it currently stands. The same issue is faced in solar panel recycling [13]. Nonetheless, these are necessary steps forward to instigate a rooted industry shift.
• Unfavourable economics and infrastructure: It often costs more to recycle than to discard, particularly for solar panels and composite blades. For turbine blades, decommissioning costs can range between $114,000 and $195,000 per turbine, and while salvage estimates can reduce these costs, the overall economic framework for recycling remains underdeveloped [14]. There exists a similar case for solar panels, which are up to 30 times more expensive to recycle than to discard, often exceeding the material value recovered. As of today, specialised recycling plants are rare, especially outside of China and the EU.

The Intention-to-Action Disconnect:

This refers to something way simpler and more human, which reflects the dynamics between how businesses are run and how they react to consumer trends. These hurdles are simple, but significant enough to halt progress:

• Focus on growth, not lifecycle: Low IRR, large NPV, high ROI, fast installation. Any large-scale infrastructure project is dictated by these metrics, and while decommissioning is taken into consideration during project planning and development, it is never the focus. Industry will always prioritise deployment over decommissioning. It’s a problem for 25 years later.
• Low public awareness: Nobody really talks about where cleantech goes when it dies, and there’s no fun in walking into an empty room. Bluntly, most people either don’t know or don’t care.

Chapter 3: The role of sustainable entrepreneurship

The materials in renewable tech aren’t waste - they’re valuable assets. While throughout this article, we have focused on solar and wind, EV batteries are also a big source of toxic, yet valuable waste.

All this to say, that there is a vast market for innovators who can profitably close the loop on clean tech.

Entrepreneurship in this field is therefore essential, with innovation that disrupts the slow-moving market of renewables recycling with scalable, tech-driven solutions.

These companies can create new markets in refurbishment, maintenance, lifecycle extension, or second-life use, as well as materials repurposing. They can incentivise big industry players to action, and ultimately attract the capital required to scale these technologies.

We are in desperate need of innovative solutions that incorporate circular economy, cradle-to-cradle design, and systems thinking into their ethos.

Conclusion

It is clear that if we fail to act, the renewable energy revolution will leave behind a new environmental crisis.

Like I stated earlier, since most either don’t know (or don’t care) about the end-of-life of renewable assets, insufficient action (or inaction) have been the norm…up until very recently.

The reason I say this is because undoubtedly, the main source of economic and political pressure in recent years has been a fracturing geopolitical landscape. The reality is that China dominates the market for the extraction, processing AND manufacturing of critical raw materials and products that contain them, and their increasing restrictions on exports is a big problem for Europe and the West in general. And so therefore, the recycling of spent renewable energy generation assets, batteries, and electronics has become a strategic priority in the interest of defending supply chains and protecting the future of the manufacturing industry. The political and social dynamics behind these moves is a whole different topic.

Conclusively, clean tech’s end-of-life problem is difficult to solve – that’s obvious. But if we respond with urgency and innovation, a multi-billion-dollar industry will unlock.

Europe knows this, investors know this.

For entrepreneurs, it’s a call to lead.

At Rapid Innovation Group, we work with cleantech entrepreneurs to identify, shape, and seize transformative commercial opportunities, supporting them and their teams throughout the strategic journey from breakthrough innovation to scaled commercialisation.

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