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Mike Casey's explanation about solar panel waste and how we need to put it in perspective caught the attention of The Cooldown.
As it said:
Concerns over solar panel waste have long been part of the conversation around renewable energy, but new insight from an energy expert suggests the problem may not be as severe as some believe.
In a clip on Instagram, Mike Casey (@electricorchardist), the CEO of Rewiring Aotearoa, explains the potential for circularity in renewable energy systems.
With the right recycling systems in place, the majority of solar panel materials can be recovered, making the technology far more sustainable than commonly assumed.
"With 98% of solar panel materials recyclable, and electric vehicle materials being 90% recyclable, the future of sustainability is in circularity," Casey argues.
When Mike Casey bought his house near Cromwell, it came with gas bottles on the side of the home for water and an expensive diesel system for the underfloor heating. He replaced both of them with a Steibel Eltron system and it's been saving him money ever since. As technical manager Bhawesh Singh told him at the Electrify Queenstown conference, there has been a big influx in enquiries from homes looking to get off the molecules and onto electrons.
Read moreDownloadConfidence that cutting regulations to make solar power more accessible - won't jeopardise people's safety. A new Regulation Ministry reports laid out a potential blueprint to legalise plug-in solar and reduce the time and cost of panel installation. Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey shares his thoughts with Andrew Dickens.
The burgeoning demand for solar was also a chance to address a mismatch between the numbers of training opportunities available and young people searching for work, Casey said. "The mums of New Zealand are telling me that there's not enough apprenticeships for their kids and the solar installers of New Zealand are telling me there's not enough trained people."
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