Silicon Ranch Corporation, one of the nation’s largest independent power producers, and SOLARCYCLE, a tech-driven solar recycling platform, announced a partnership to process end-of-life solar modules from Silicon Ranch projects through SOLARCYCLE’s advanced, high-recovery recycling platform. SOLARCYCLE’s cutting-edge approach to module recycling recovers approximately 95% of solar panel value, which can be returned to the supply chain and used to manufacture new panels.With an operating portfolio of more than 145 solar power facilities across 15 states, Silicon Ranch is SOLARCYCLE’s first utility-scale partner. The partnership between the two companies will allow SOLARCYCLE to establish a model for recycling solar materials at the utility scale, the largest segment of the solar market.
The alliance comes at a critical time, as the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act is expected to accelerate demand for both solar energy and a domestic solar supply chain. The partnership will help fuel the growing U.S. solar manufacturing industry with a domestic supply of recycled materials essential to the production of new solar panels, including glass, silicon, and valuable metals such as silver, copper, and aluminum. Recent research by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that by 2040, for certain materials, recycling can meet 25-30% of domestic solar manufacturing needs in the United States.
“As the long-term owner of every project in our portfolio, we at Silicon Ranch are deeply committed to our relationships and responsibilities in the communities we serve. These responsibilities include end-of-life equipment management, Embracing this opportunity to pioneer recycling and re-use processes at scale with SOLARCYCLE is a significant step in meeting these responsibilities. This partnership supports our commitments to advance domestic solar manufacturing, a circular solar economy, and economic development opportunities in communities across the country. We encourage others in the industry to join us in this meaningful endeavor.”
-Reagan Farr, Silicon Ranch President and CEO.
Silicon Ranch continues to widen its scope in the solar industry through its holistic Regenerative Energy® approach to project design, construction, and land management, as well as its recent acquisition of carbon solutions provider Clearloop. The partnership with SOLARCYCLE will further boost Silicon Ranch’s mission to bring economic development opportunities and low-cost carbon solutions to communities across the country.
SOLARCYCLE’s team is taking what we learned in the solar, sustainability, and recycling industries and applying it to our tech-driven recycling solutions. We know that scale matters in order to be able to drive costs down and bring quality up,” said Suvi Sharma, CEO and Co-Founder of SOLARCYCLE. “We are thrilled that our partnership with Silicon Ranch–an innovative leader in bringing solar to scale sustainably and responsibly–will help us make solar across America fully sustainable.”
SOLARCYCLE is currently the only dedicated technology-based recycling company for the solar industry. The company focuses on recycling solar panels to obtain the maximum amount of materials to go back into the supply chain, and help to build a circular economy for solar. Launched earlier this year, the company is establishing a state-of-the-art solar panel recycling center, which will open in Q4.
Silicon Ranch pioneered utility-scale solar in the Southeast with the first large-scale solar projects in Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Kentucky. Notably, SOLARCYCLE is the latest partnership supporting domestic infrastructure secured by Silicon Ranch. In just the last six months, the company has announced new agreements with both FirstSolar and Nextracker to improve the carbon footprint of its module and tracker supply, respectively, while supporting additional investment in US manufacturing capabilities, and reducing volatility and logistics risk throughout the solar lifecycle. In turn, these partnerships collectively increase Silicon Ranch’s ability to deliver on designing, building, and managing a growing base of solar ranches across the country. The company has successfully commissioned every project it has contracted since its inception and has further distinguished itself through its commitment to own and operate each project in its portfolio for the long term. Earlier this year, Silicon Ranch completed a $775 million equity raise led by Manulife Investment Management.
About Silicon Ranch Corporation
Founded in 2011, Silicon Ranch is a fully integrated provider of customized renewable energy, carbon, and battery storage solutions for a diverse set of partners across North America. The company is one of the largest independent power producers in the country, with a portfolio that includes more than five gigawatts of solar and battery storage systems that are contracted, under construction, or operating across the U.S. and Canada. Silicon Ranch owns and operates every project in its portfolio and has maintained an unblemished track record of project execution, having successfully commissioned every project it has contracted in its history. In recognition of its holistic approach to land management, which the company has trademarked Regenerative Energy®, Silicon Ranch was named 2020’s “Most Forward-Thinking” company by Solar Power World. In 2021, Silicon Ranch acquired Clearloop, which helps businesses of all sizes reclaim their carbon footprint with a direct investment in building new solar projects while expanding access to clean energy. To learn more, visit siliconranch.com, regenerativeenergy.org, and clearloop.us. Follow Silicon Ranch on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
About SOLARCYCLE, Inc.
SOLARCYCLE, Inc (www.SOLARCYCLE.us) is a technology-driven platform designed to maximize solar sustainability by offering solar asset owners a low-cost, eco-friendly, comprehensive process for recycling retiring solar panels and technologies and repurposing them for new uses. The company’s proprietary technology allows it to extract over 95% of the valuable metals such as silver, copper, silicon, low-iron glass and aluminum. SOLARCYCLE was founded in 2022 by experts in solar technology, recycling and sustainability to accelerate build-out of the circular economy for solar and renewables.