OnePlanet Solar Recycling announced April 22 it will begin work in 2026 on a $90 million solar panel recycling facility, its second in Green Cove Springs.
It is expected to be in operation by 2027 and join the company’s prototype facility it opened in 2024 at 1347 Energy Cove Court.
One Planet Solar Recycling, founded in 2023, is headquartered in Jacksonville.
The operation now employs about 15 and is running at 85%-87% capacity, André Pujadas, OnePlanet CEO, said in a Zoom interview April 21 ahead of the announcement.
As the operation grows, OnePlanet expects to increase its workforce to 40, he said.
When open, the second plant will double that number of employees.
Two more facilities are expected to come online in 2030.
OnePlanet has code-named the new Green Cove Springs facility the River City Project.
The company recycles used solar panels to extract silicon, glass, aluminum and copper for reuse in industries.
It has received solar panels for recycling from Florida, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, California, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
Solar panels have a lifespan of 25 to 30 years. There is a second-hand market for used panels for uses other than generating electricity.
As the cost of new panels fall, resale is less lucrative, Pujadas said.
“We need to find a solution because it’s almost kicking the can down the road by selling these panels to third world countries that probably have no environmental regulations and they would end up in landfills anyway.”
OnePlanet recycles 100% of panel contents with no leftover materials for area landfills.
“The intent here is to provide a pathway for the utilities and the solar asset owners to bolster and develop the domestic U.S. chain for critical waste elements so we are less reliant on imports,” he said.
Its current facility is approaching recycling 500,000 solar panels annually. The second plant will recycle another 2 million.
Dana B. Kenyon Co. said it is the project contractor. Kasper architects + associates is the architect. Both are based in Jacksonville.
On April 22, OnePlanet announced the successful closing of a $7 million seed financing round to advance development of the River City Project, “a first-of-its-kind solar panel recycling facility.”
The seed financing round was led by Khasma Capital, of Brooklyn, New York, an investment fund focused on the circular economy and emerging energy transition assets.
“OnePlanet has assembled a team with both deep technical expertise and a disciplined approach to infrastructure project execution,” said Ashlynn Horras, partner at Khasma Capital, said in a news release.
“This investment reflects our belief that solar module recycling is not only necessary - it is investable at scale, with durable tailwinds driven by regulation, economics, and resource security.”
The release said the River City project was awarded a $14.5 million Investment Tax Credit under the Department of Energy’s competitive Section 48C(e) Advanced Energy Project Program, established by the Inflation Reduction Act.
The tax credit supports domestic advanced manufacturing facilities that recover and reintroduce critical materials back into U.S. supply chains.
Green Cove Springs was chosen for several reasons, Pujadas said.
Florida is a leader in the production of solar energy. Northeast Florida’s transportation system allows for spent panels to be delivered by rail, truck or barge.
When build-out is complete in 2030, OnePlanet expects to recycle 6 million photovoltaic modules annually and bring the OnePlanet workforce to between 230 and 250 employees.
However, the location of the two additional plants is not guaranteed to be in Northeast Florida, said Pujadas, who also expects to consider Texas and California, both large solar energy-producing states.