Early morning at the Sichuan Wangcang Economic Development Zone, the standardized production workshop of Yong'an Guangcircular Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. is bustling with activity. Retired solar panels are fed into the machine inlet, and in less than a minute, they are automatically and precisely disassembled into seven types of recycled materials, transforming into "urban minerals" for green, circular regeneration.
Inside the workshop, an automated production line operates around the clock, processing 1,700 retired photovoltaic modules or 50 tons daily. The controller displays various parameters, the floor remains dust-free, incoming materials are neatly stacked, the disassembly process is fully enclosed, and outputs are orderly sorted and packaged. Sun Tongyong, the workshop's material supervisor, explained that the current raw materials mainly come from Sichuan's Ganzi, Aba, and Liangshan regions, with some also sourced from other western provinces. The disassembled aluminum alloy frames are sold directly to a recycled aluminum plant in Qujing, Yunnan, for smelting. The laminated components undergo pyrolysis via self-developed equipment, yielding glass fragments, solder ribbons, and solar cells. The glass fragments are sold to Deyang in Sichuan and Chongqing for processing into recycled glass, while the solder ribbons go to Chenzhou in Hunan to extract recycled copper, tin, and silver. The solar cells are shipped to Shangrao in Jiangxi to recover recycled silver and silicon, and the disassembled junction boxes provide copper wire that is sold to Baoding in Hebei to produce recycled copper wire. The equipment achieves an organic adhesive film removal rate of over 99%, a comprehensive material recovery rate exceeding 96%, and generates approximately 5,000 yuan in output value per ton, making it a highly sought-after asset in the renewable resource cycle.
Where the Journey Begins
Wangcang County was an early adopter of photovoltaic applications, with solar installation capacity steadily expanding across industrial parks, factory rooftops, public buildings, and residential housing. As some modules gradually reach the end of their service life, standardized disposal and resource recovery have become critical issues for sustainable industry growth. Yang Chaofei, deputy director of the Wangcang Economic Development Zone Administrative Committee, noted that the local government has taken a problem-oriented and forward-looking approach, positioning photovoltaic recycling as a key driver of new quality productive forces and green transformation. Targeting this emerging downstream segment of the solar industry, it is building a development system characterized by advanced technology, clustered enterprises, and a fully closed-loop process, using end-of-life recycling to support the sector's high-quality expansion.
Collaboration between eastern and western regions has catalyzed project implementation, and construction has solidified the development foundation. In December 2023, leveraging the East-West collaboration mechanism with Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Wangcang successfully attracted the project for a 200,000-ton annual retired photovoltaic module circular utilization industrial park. With a total investment of 310 million yuan, the project is advancing in two phases: Phase One invested 50 million yuan to build 10,000 square meters of standardized workshops and two automated disassembly lines, which are now fully operational. Phase Two plans to invest 260 million yuan to add disassembly lines and supporting deep-processing facilities for recycled aluminum, copper, and silver. Once complete, it will become a full-chain base for photovoltaic circular utilization, forming an integrated ecosystem spanning collection, disassembly, purification, and deep processing.
Why This Matters for the Industry
The clustering effect is accelerating, and the park's development capacity continues to rise. Yang Chaofei explained that the industrial park, led by flagship enterprises, is pursuing extended, supplementary, and strengthened supply chains. It is actively attracting upstream and downstream supporting businesses in retired panel collection, disassembly and sorting, and recycled material processing, cultivating an industrial landscape of "one core leading, multiple enterprises cooperating, and chain-driven growth." Wangcang County is advancing the solar industry's quality and efficiency with a whole-chain mindset. Wang Yiyi, director of the Wangcang Economic Development Zone Administrative Committee, stated that the county adheres to a development strategy that balances "photovoltaic development with circular utilization, and industrial scale with green benefits." It is accelerating Phase Two construction of the solar circular utilization park while refining supporting functions such as disassembly and sorting, warehousing and logistics, and renewable resource application. This article was published on Page 10 of the September 4 edition of People's Daily.