At the start of 2012, CERES reached a significant milestone after it signed up over 50 members. At the same time, CERES also started collecting decommissioned plants of over 100kWc and manufacturing scraps.
The first tons were received by the centre’s first collection point in France and then sent to its processing centre, while other collection points are opening all the time. Indeed, by 1 May, CERES will have a fully operating network of collection points across Europe.
While other solar panel collection and recycling services exist in Europe, the most noteworthy being the independent, not-for-profit association PV Cycle, CERES is the only organization offering an entirely free take-back and recycling scheme for end-of-life photovoltaic panels.
CERES says that the collection results so far this year “are in line with the forecasts and market studies conducted since 2010” and that the association’s innovative business model of covering collection and recycling costs through its recycling partners “has indeed been validated” by the 500 tonnes collected so far in 2012. “Therefore manufacturers who have already joined CERES in order to manage photovoltaic waste already benefit from a competitive advantage and are in full compliance with current regulations,” says CERES.
The CERES take-back system consists of electronic waste management professionals that already have every necessary permits to operate collection points in accordance with national and European regulations. CERES has chosen to work with local actors in every country since they already have a large operating base and proven expertise. This allows to build the CERES system on existing infrastructures and to maximise the cost/performance ratio in order to better serve the association’s members.
Nicolas Defrenne, CERES’ managing director, has declared that “over the last 30 days [as of end of March], ten new members have joined us which is confirms that CERES benefits from a very positive dynamic. Indeed, support from the photovoltaic industry is paramount for us as we want to make our free take-back model the norm and to preserve the competitiveness of photovoltaic manufacturers”.
CERES is also working in order to preserve its system’s compliance with all the requirements of the new WEEE Directive, which now includes photovoltaic panels.
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