By The Star Staff
Rep. Víctor Parés Otero, who chairs the Government Committee in the island House of Representatives, announced on Monday the holding of a roundtable to develop an industry for the management, disposal and recycling of solar panels and batteries in Puerto Rico.
Guests of the roundtable will include the secretaries of economic development and commerce, public safety, consumer affairs, and natural and environmental resources. Also present will be officials from the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau, the Renewable Energy Producers Association, and the Puerto Rico Solar and Storage Association, among others.
“Today, our Governor, Jenniffer González, announced the establishment of the first plant to manufacture photovoltaic energy panels in Puerto Rico. This is a tremendous initiative that will undoubtedly help promote the use of solar energy systems on the island,” Parés said. “However, there is another reality: the need to create an industry for the management, disposal and recycling of batteries and solar panels. We have been working on this issue for years, and for that reason, we are calling a roundtable meeting at the Capitol to discuss the creation of this platform, which is so necessary to address the upcoming needs.”
“According to existing data, around 3,400 solar panel systems are installed in Puerto Rico every month,” the San Juan District 4 legislator noted. “As this sector grows, so does the volume of photovoltaic panels and storage batteries discarded at the end of their useful life. This definitely has the potential to become an environmental problem unless preventative measures are taken now.”
Experts agree that if the time window is not taken advantage of to outline a roadmap, problems could begin as early as 2030.
“The possible actions we will evaluate at this roundtable range from legislation to prohibit the disposal of panels and batteries in landfill systems, to the development of local recycling industries, which would, in turn, generate economic activity,” Parés said.
Solar panels have a lifespan of 25 to 30 years, while certain types of batteries have an estimated lifespan of 10 to 14 years, and others half that duration.
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