Spain launches €100 million renewables recycling aid programme

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Dubbed RENOCICLA, the aid programme will allocate €30 million towards the recycling of solar panels. Image: MITECO

The Spanish government has launched a €100 million (US$117 million) aid programme to help promote the recycling and reuse of materials from renewable energy projects.

Launched by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), RENOCICLA will allocate €80 million to new investments in second-life plants and the reuse and/or recycling of solar panels, lithium batteries and wind turbine blades.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Solar PV and energy storage recycling will have €30 million each allocated in the recycling programme. The funds will be provided through Spain’s recovery and resilience plan (PRTR) under the EU’s future resilience infrastructure fund, NextGenEU.

The programme will aim to prioritise the most advanced initiatives able to improve the treatment and recovery of obsolete renewable energy equipment – those with high percentages of reuse and recycling by weight, with a minimum varying between 65% and 85% depending on the technology. This includes the recycling of valuable materials such as lithium or lithium-ion, among others.

The remaining €20 million will be allocated to finance innovation projects in the eco-design of components and equipment for renewable energy technologies, with the goal to improve their useful life, reusability and recyclability.

Developments which increase the inclusion of secondary raw materials in manufacturing processes and reduce waste will also be eligible to participate. Among the eligible proposals are industrial research initiatives, experimental developments and feasibility studies.

Projects will be rated based on several criteria including technical rigor, economic viability, and innovative nature, among others.

Applications will be open from 8 July until 16 September 2025. For more details regarding the programme and how to participate, you can access the Institute for Diversification and Energy Saving (IDAE) website here (in Spanish). IDAE, which will manage the recycling programme, will be holding a webinar introducing the programme on Thursday 3 July between 12am and 1:15pm (CET).

The launch of the RENOCICLA programme comes only days after MITECO and IDAE officially granted nearly €300 million in renewables manufacturing. Results were unveiled earlier this year, with more than €210 million allocated for solar PV manufacturing, of which most went to Solar ingot and wafer manufacturer startup Sunwafe. The company has been granted nearly €200 million to help build a wafer manufacturing plant by 2030, which aims to reach a 20GW annual nameplate capacity.

Other upstream PV manufacturing projects awarded capacity include Dutch solar cell manufacturer MCPV and Spanish module manufacturer European Solar Cell Company (Escelco).

2 December 2025
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2026. PV ModuleTech Europe 2025 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.

Read Next

August 8, 2025
This week several solar developers have raised funds for projects around the world, including BRUC in Europe, Greenalia in the US, Qair in Mauritius and CREC in Philippines.
August 7, 2025
US residential solar installer Sunrun says it has positioned itself to continue generating strong financial returns after the passing of the 'One Big, Beautiful Bill'.
August 5, 2025
Sonnedix and Prosolia have acquired projects, while Iberdrola has signed a 34MW PPA with Burger King covering 109MW total.
August 1, 2025
Western Australia network operator Western Power has confirmed it has granted two more network connection offers to two new large-scale renewable energy projects, bringing its total for 2024/25 to 759MW.
July 31, 2025
Matthias Taft, the chief executive officer of renewables developer BayWa r.e., will leave the company at the end of August.
July 30, 2025
Spanish solar energy company Soltec has found an investor that will acquire 80% of the company’s shares in a restructuring move.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines