Comstock Metals to recycle PV modules at Nevada facility

July 18, 2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Comstock Metals module recycling
The new recycling plant aims to serve the needs of the expanding solar industry in the Western US. Image: Comstock Metals

Mineral exploration company Comstock Metals has secured a lease to build a solar module recycling facility in Nevada, US. 

Located at Silver Springs, Nevada, the facility can process up to 100,000 tonnes of decommissioned solar PV modules per year, according to Comstock Metals. Recently, the company received unanimous approval for a conditional use permit from the board of county commissioners of Lyon County, Nevada, for the operations, and material storage of solar modules at the facility. 

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The company claimed that the new facility could deliver “a 100% closed-loop, zero-landfill solution”, reducing electronic waste sent to landfills and increasing the recovery of valuable materials.

Moreover, the new facility aims to cater to the needs of the rapidly expanding solar industry in the Western US. 

PV Tech Premium recently examined the decommissioning of solar modules. Currently, there are limited studies on the processes of retiring solar projects, and cost estimates vary wildly. However, according to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), 29 states in the US have policies applicable to decommissioning PV systems.

Additionally, a standard power purchase agreement (PPA) for a solar energy project lasts 25 years, and the industry is still relatively young, so there have been very few cases of decommissioning to date from which to learn best practices. Meanwhile in the US, solar projects, of which 80% were installed within the last seven years, are far younger than the older plants in Europe, so attention is only beginning to shift towards decommissioning.

Aside from the new recycling plant built by Comstock Metals, US-based PV recycling firm Solarcycle announced plans to build a recycled solar glass manufacturing facility in Polk County, Georgia earlier this year.

The facility will use recycled materials from retired solar panels to make new solar glass, which Solarcycle said was a “first-of-its-kind” endeavour in the US. This would make Solarcycle one of the first producers of solar glass for crystalline silicon PV in the US. 

In Europe, the European Council confirmed that solar module manufacturers would need to bear responsibility for the waste disposal and recycling of modules. Under an amendment to its Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, the Council said that the cost for the recycling and disposal of solar modules placed on the market after 13 August 2012 rests with the producers of the products.

21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

Premium
October 17, 2025
According to Ronak Maheshwari of CRC-IB, there has been a struggle for US renewable power projects to secure necessary equity .
October 17, 2025
Norwegian renewable energy firm Scatec has signed lease agreements for 64MW of solar PV and 10MWh of energy storage capacity in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
October 17, 2025
A group of over 20 US states are suing the Trump administration for the cancellation of the US$7 billion Solar For All Scheme.
October 16, 2025
Masdar and Turkey have entered the final stage of US$1 billion agreement to develop the 1.1GW plant in Bor, Niğde Province, central Turkey.
October 16, 2025
T1 Energy and Nextracker have agreed to use the latter’s steel module frames at the former’s new 5GW module manufacturing facility in Dallas.
October 16, 2025
US utility-scale solar additions grew by 56% in 2024, reaching 30GW from 2023’s 19GW and representing over 54% of all new electricity generation capacity added in the country last year.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK