Western Australia has committed AUD 17.8 million to boost solar panel and battery recycling capacity
The funding will support collection, transport, and processing pathways for end-of-life clean energy equipment
The initiative is expected to reduce waste, recover valuable materials, and encourage local investment and jobs
The Western Australian Government has allocated AUD 17.8 million in its 2026-27 State Budget to expand the state's solar panel and battery recycling capacity under its "Remade in WA" initiative.
The funding includes AUD 13 million to establish new collection, transport, and processing pathways for end-of-life solar panels from households and solar farms. Another AUD 3 million will support local governments in collecting embedded batteries from products such as eRideables and household devices, while AUD 1.8 million has been earmarked for the continued delivery of both programs.
The government said the initiative aims to reduce landfill waste, recover valuable materials from clean energy equipment, and support the development of a local recycling industry. It is also expected to encourage private investment and create jobs.
“More solar panels and batteries are coming into use every day and we need systems to manage them at end-of-life, reducing waste and supporting a circular economy,” stated Western Australia’s Energy and Decarbonization and Manufacturing Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson. “This announcement is good for local jobs, good for local businesses and good for our environment.”
This follows Western Australia’s plans to establish an AUD 1.4 billion Clean Energy Fund to accelerate renewable energy development and electricity network to support decarbonization strategy, announced in April this year (see Western Australia Launches AUD 1.4 Billion Clean Energy Fund).
The circular economy commitment of the government was welcomed by the Smart Energy Council (SEC), which said the funding will ensure solar panels and batteries are recycled and remanufactured at the end of their operational life. It had earlier said reusing around 1/3rd of the end-of-life solar panels can contribute up to 24 GW of energy by 2040 (see Australia’s Solar Panel Waste Could Unlock 24 GW By 2040).
The council noted that recovered materials such as silver, copper, aluminum, silicon, and glass could support Australia's clean energy and critical minerals supply chains.
SEC Program Director—Stewardship Pilot, Darren Johannesen, remarked, “Recovery of solar PV panels represents a more than $7 billion opportunity to bolster the nation’s critical mineral resource security,” and added, “Solar panels are not a waste problem, rather a critical resource.”
“Solar and batteries are delivering the cheapest form of energy to Western Australian homes and businesses. Ensuring they’re recycled and remade should be the consumer and industry benchmark,” said SEC WA State Manager John Welch.
According to the Clean Energy Council (CEC), Australia is projected to dispose. Of 34.6 GW worth of fully serviceable solar panels by 2045 which was equivalent to all solar panels installed in the country as of August 2024, representing an estimated economic value of AUD 167 billion. Reusing these could increase the country’s installed capacity by up to 17% by 2035.
It further adds that the cumulative volume of end-of-life solar panels in Australia is expected to reach 1 million tons by 2035, and the total material value from such panels is projected to surpass AUD 1 billion.
The Western Australia’s investment in solar and battery recycling comes as Australia prepares to launch a National Solar Panel Recycling Pilot program with plans to invest AUD 24.7 million over the next 3 years (see Australia Launches Call For National Solar Panel Recycling Pilot).
Earlier in April 2026, the University of New South Wales (NSW) launched the Australian Research Council (ARC) Hub for Photovoltaic Solar Panel Recycling and Sustainability on campus to better recover valuable materials from old solar panels (see Australia’s 1st Solar Panel Recycling Research Hub At UNSW).