Ballina solar project contract puts working-panel reuse ahead of recycling

Functional solar panels removed from Ballina Shire Council’s Waste Water Management Plant project are to be stored for possible discounted community sale, while the remaining panels must go to a commercial solar-panel recycling facility.

The reuse and recycling requirement is written into the contract for the work. Council is considering offering working panels to community members at a heavily discounted price, but panels would first need to be tested and stored, with sale conditions also to be determined.

Any panels not used through the proposed community-sale option are to be recycled commercially. Troy Anderson told the C Ward Committee the project tender had been awarded at the August Council meeting.

The contractor, number of panels and project cost were not specified.

The Ballina Environment Society raised the issue, asking what would happen to panels reaching the end of their operational life. The committee noted the information. No separate project or working group was established.

Malcolm Johnson also raised the need for reliable power for the Rural Fire Service during blackouts and suggested Council work with the Airport, Ballina Fair and Ballina Central to investigate solar panels over car parks.

That proposal was discussed as a possible renewable-energy opportunity, but no working group was confirmed. The solar contract requirement remains focused on reuse or commercial recycling of panels from the project.

Council’s next steps for the panels are to test those that might still be functional, determine storage arrangements and decide whether discounted community sales can proceed.