Solarcycle partners with RWE Clean Energy to recycle solar panels

Solarcycle, a Mesa, Arizona-based solar panel recycling company, has signed a recycling services agreement with RWE Clean Energy to recycle solar panels from RWE’s solar energy projects.

RWE conducted a selection process before choosing Solarcycle as a recycling partner. Panels from RWE’s West of the Pecos solar facility in Texas were transported to Solarcycle’s Odessa, Texas, facility where the recycling process was evaluated and audited through independent third-party testing.

“We applaud RWE’s commitment to the circular economy, as demonstrated through their extensive quality testing,” Solarcycle CEO and Co-founder Jesse Simons says. “RWE has a sophisticated understanding of solar panel recycling and knows the right questions to ask. We encourage everyone in the solar industry to insist on these high standards for recycling and back it up with extensive third-party testing.” 

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According to Solarcycle, its proprietary technology extracts up to 95 percent of a panel’s value, including materials like aluminum, silver, copper, silicon and glass. Solarcycle currently has three facilities in Arizona, Texas and Georgia, which it says will provide national coverage to support RWE’s growing operational asset base in the U.S.

In 2024, RWE and Solarcycle partnered on recycling projects at RWE’s Alamo 7, West of the Pecos and Big Star sites, with plans to continue and expand the collaboration into 2025.

Solarcycle says it has processed nearly 500,000 panels and is on track to recycle 1 million panels by the end of year. With this partnership, RWE joins more than 90 energy companies that have already partnered with Solarcycle.