Arizona Company Works to Recycle Old Solar Panels

Arizona Company Works to Recycle Old Solar Panels

亚利桑那公司致力于回收旧太阳能板

【听力音频】

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

　　By Dan Friedell

　　30 December 2023

　　The first generation of solar panels in use on homes and other buildings will soon be too old to work anymore. Owners will need to replace them.

　　But, what can be done with the old equipment, aside from adding it to waste landfills?

　　Adam Saghei in the U.S. state of Arizona hopes he has the answer.

　　He is the leader of a business called We Recycle Solar.

　　He said most solar panels last about 30 years. So many of the first panels put to use in America are reaching the end of their usefulness. Most will go to landfills, he said.

　　However, his company, and a few others, are working to collect old panels and make them useful again.

　　He said the process is part of what he called "the circular economy."

　　"(Solar) is a sustainable form of energy; there needs to be a plan for the retirement of those assets," he said.

　　For example, Saghei said many of the panels that fail only have a small problem. Often it can be easily fixed. Then, the repaired piece can be offered in new markets, often in other countries.

　　Saghei said the company's engineers learned how to recover valuable material from the old solar panels. They can remove silver, copper, glass, and silicone from the broken panels. All the materials have market value.

　　It took the engineers three years to perfect the materials recovery process, which Saghei called "urban mining."

　　The company can process up to 7,500 solar panels every day at its center in Yuma. Saghei said they can recover up to 99 percent of the useful material from each panel.

　　Meng Tao is a professor at Arizona State University and an expert on sustainable energy systems.

　　He said solar panel installations will reach their highest numbers in about 20 years. At that point, he said, the number of new panels being produced will equal the number of old panels going out of service. The cost to recycle the old panels, however, may be too high.

　　At that point, he said, it will be very easy for homeowners to decide to send their panels to a landfill. But the U.S. government, he said, should provide money for solar panel recycling projects as part of its environmental policies.

　　That way, making a better choice will be easier for homeowners.

　　Saghei said he hopes his company is getting into the business at the right time. Recovering the materials from old panels is costly work. He said it takes a lot of labor, time and energy.

　　But he thinks taking out the valuable materials and sending them back into the supply chain is a winning idea.

　　"These are markets that are growing," Saghei said. "What's exciting is we're at the forefront."

　　I'm Dan Friedell.

　　Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by AFP.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

　　作者：Dan Friedell

　　日期：2023年12月30日

　　家庭和其他建筑物上使用的第一代太阳能板即将过时，无法再继续使用，业主们需要更换它们。

　　但是，除了将旧设备丢弃到废物填埋场，还有什么其他的处理办法呢？

　　美国亚利桑那州的Adam Saghei希望他找到了答案。

　　他是一家名为"We Recycle Solar"的公司的领导者。

　　他说，大多数太阳能板的使用寿命大约是30年。因此，美国使用的许多第一代太阳能板现在已经接近使用寿命的尽头。他说，大多数太阳能板将被送到垃圾填埋场。

　　然而，他的公司和其他一些公司正在努力收集旧的太阳能板，使它们再次发挥作用。

　　他说，这个过程是他所说的"循环经济"的一部分。

　　"（太阳能）是一种可持续的能源形式；需要有一个计划来处理这些资产的退役问题，"他说。

　　例如，Saghei说，许多失效的太阳能板只有一个小问题。这个问题通常可以很容易地修复。然后，修复后的部件可以在新的市场上销售，通常是在其他国家。

　　Saghei表示，公司的工程师们已经学会如何从旧的太阳能板中回收有价值的材料。他们可以从损坏的太阳能板中提取银、铜、玻璃和硅。所有这些材料都有市场价值。

　　工程师们花了三年时间来完善这个材料回收过程，Saghei称之为"城市矿业"。

　　该公司在Yuma的中心每天可以处理多达7500块太阳能板。Saghei说，他们可以从每块板子中回收高达99%的有用材料。

　　孟涛是亚利桑那州立大学的一位教授，也是可持续能源系统的专家。

　　他说，太阳能板的安装数量将在大约20年后达到最高点。到那时，他说，新生产的太阳能板的数量将等于退役的旧太阳能板的数量。然而，回收旧太阳能板的成本可能过高。

　　他说，到那时，业主们会很容易决定将他们的太阳能板送去填埋场。但他表示，美国政府应该将太阳能板回收项目作为其环保政策的一部分，提供资金支持。

　　这样，业主们做出更好选择就会更容易。

　　Saghei说，他希望他的公司在正确的时间进入这个行业。从旧板子中回收材料是一项成本高昂的工作。他说，这需要大量的劳动力、时间和能源。

　　但他认为，取出有价值的材料并将它们送回供应链是一个有前景的想法。

　　"Saghei说，"这些市场正在增长。令人兴奋的是，我们处于前沿位置。"

　　我是Dan Friedell。

　　Dan Friedell根据法新社的一篇报道，为英语学习改编了这个故事。

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

　　故事中的词汇

　　sustainable—adj. 可持续的，用来描述不会耗尽资源（如煤炭）就能生产出来的东西

　　asset –n. 资产，有价值的物品

　　exciting –adj. 令人兴奋的，有趣的

　　forefront—n. 前列，首位，或者是首先做某事的人或事物