Episode 583

583: Emilie O’Leary on Recycling and Best Practices for Cleaning up Solar Sites

Published on: 30th March, 2023

Host Nico Johnson speaks with Emilie Oxel O'Leary, CEO of Green Clean Solar, about the utility-scale solar industry's waste challenges in today's podcast. 

The US Dept. of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimates 80 million metric tons of solar photovoltaics (PV) could reach end of life by 2050. Many million tons of additional waste are generated during the construction and installation of solar projects.

Emilie shares how her Marietta-based commercial waste management and landfill diversion business partners with recycling companies to recover and reuse components from broken solar panels and related debris, reducing waste and conserving resources. Green Clean Solar is addressing the trash from solar installations today and positioning itself to handle future end-of-life issues.

Recycling is essential to prevent solar energy from posing a waste burden for future generations, and this episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in sustainable solar energy growth.

If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to his contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes/.

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About the Podcast

SunCast
Your resource for developing a clean energy or climate tech career
Nico Johnson takes you into conversations with those at the forefront of Renewable Energy.

SunCast gives an inside look into what is happening in renewable energy. From conversations with the biggest Solar Panel manufacturers in the world to the small startups creating the future of renewable energy, such as carbon capture and battery technology breakthroughs.

SunCast is dedicated to providing the knowledge, research, tools and expert guidance you need to understand, grow and be ahead of the curve in the fastest-growing markets in the world.

Featuring over 600 conversations, Nico has interviewed people from Tesla, SolarCity, Trina Solar, Meyer Burger, Conergy, SunEdison, Energy Vault and even the US Government... to name a few. Covering topics such as Solar Power, Wind Energy, Batteries, Electric Vehicles, Carbon Capture, Finance, Hydrogen, and more.

You can watch SunCast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SunCastMedia

...or view the full archive of SunCast episodes here: https://mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes