Solar and wind are increasingly outpacing nuclear power globally, with solar generation surpassing nuclear for the first time in 2025, according to WNISR 2026. The report highlights nuclear’s slow growth, lengthy construction timelines and limited small modular reactor deployment, contrasting them with rapid renewables and battery expansion.
Starting with solar PV. The dopants are not retrievable, the silicon too contaminated for PV use, silver, ok, glass panes – probably not recyclable, melting down can perhaps be done with electric heating. Aluminium profiles, ok. Copper wiring, partly. Renewable infra at scale by the way needs so much copper it will exhaust minable ores.
So unfortunately PV is a dud recycling-wise and needs so much energy to process you can do it from scratch. Same thing with batteries, especially sodium. Wind, concrete and composite not recyclable, steel and rare earth magnets yes, copper yes.
Starting with solar PV. The dopants are not retrievable, the silicon too contaminated for PV use, silver, ok, glass panes – probably not recyclable, melting down can perhaps be done with electric heating. Aluminium profiles, ok. Copper wiring, partly. Renewable infra at scale by the way needs so much copper it will exhaust minable ores.
So unfortunately PV is a dud recycling-wise and needs so much energy to process you can do it from scratch. Same thing with batteries, especially sodium. Wind, concrete and composite not recyclable, steel and rare earth magnets yes, copper yes.