Frank Brill is editor of EnviroPolitics

Solar panels seem to be popping up all over. On the rooftops of homes, businesses, and churches. Covering old landfills and industrial sites. Over parking spaces in office parks and now even powering the rides at Six Flags Great Adventure.

For some of us, they still seem relatively new but the fact is that the dark-blue rectangles have been generating electricity for more than 30 years and some of them are wearing out and have begun showing up in scrap yards.

President Jimmy Carter had 32 panels installed on the roof of the White House in 1979. Ronald Regan (not a fan) had them yanked in 1986. Barack Obama, in 2014, installed a new set that is six times more powerful than the originals. They are expected to pay for themselves within eight years. (Shh. Don’t tell the current resident)

Can solar components be safely recycled and put to new uses? Two state legislators, Senator Bob Smith and Assemblywoman Nancy Pinkin, want to know and sponsored identical bills, S601 and A4011, establishing the New Jersey Solar Panel Recycling Commission to investigate those questions.

Initial research already has been performed. A 2016 report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Program (IEA-PVPS) found that over 90 percent of materials in typical photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, silicon, aluminum, and glass can be recycled and used again to produce new solar panels.

The nine-member New Jersey commission would conduct its own investigation and submit its findings and recommendations to the Governor and Legislature within one year. The report would be published on the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) website.

Both bills passed their respective houses on unanimous votes in the past week and have been sent to Gov. Phil Murphy for his consideration.

Should the governor sign the legislation? Tell us what you think in the comment box below and we’ll hazard a wild guess about your political inclination.

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