OnePlanet Solar Recycling has a plan to tackle broken solar panels. The Jacksonville, FL-based startup, led by a former steel executive who worked on the industry鈥檚 efforts to reuse scrap, just raised $7 million to start developing a聽first-of-its-kind solar recycling plant. The facility would break down busted panels and turn the waste stream into a聽new domestic source of metals such as copper and aluminum at a聽moment when tariffs are set to hike the price of imported materials.
The company plans to build its $90 million facility, dubbed the River City project, in Green Cove Springs 鈥� just south of Jacksonville, Florida鈥檚 most populous city. In 2027, OnePlanet aims to complete the first of three phases of construction on the plant and open the debut disassembly line capable of deconstructing 2聽million solar modules per year. The firm set a聽deadline to triple capacity to 6聽million panels by聽2030.
At peak output, the company expects the facility to be among the largest solar recycling plants in the nation. OnePlanet鈥檚 ambitious plans rest on its unique solar recycling process. The company uses existing technologies but developed a proprietary workflow for divvying panels by shape, model, and physical integrity before crushing, grinding, and chemically treating the hardware to extract raw materials.