The provincial government has shared more details on the launch of Alberta’s new solar panel recycling program, which begins next month. Solar panels will be banned from Alberta landfills starting Oct. 1, and the fee to recycle them will be $15. It will apply only to new panels supplied on or after Oct. 1; there will be no retroactive fee on panels already installed. The province said Thursday the fee is intended to fund the collection, transportation and recycling of legacy and newly supplied panels. For a typical residential installation of 20 panels, the fee would total $240, less than 1.5 per cent of the overall installation cost, the province said. Alberta will be the first in Canada to operate a solar panel recycling program. “Alberta has never been afraid to lead. We will not wait until mountains of dead solar panels are piling up in our landfills before acting,” said Grant Hunter, minister of environment and protected areas. “We are putting the system in place now to recover valuable materials, attract private investment and build a new recycling industry here in Alberta.” Most solar panels have an expected lifespan of about 25 years. They’re made of glass, aluminum, silicon, silver, copper and other metals. “By planning ahead to ensure expired panels are properly collected and materials are reused where possible, we’re protecting taxpayers from future cleanup costs and keeping power affordable and sustainable for generations to come,” said RJ Sigurdson, minister of affordability and utilities.
