ACEN Australia’s 400-megawatt Stubbo Solar project in central-west New South Wales is set to recycle almost a million solar panels at the end of their life, marking an Australian first for a utility-scale solar project and a major step toward a circular economy for the industry.
The project, owned by ACEN Corp., is the first large-scale development to earn ‘CPVA Certified’ status from the Circular PV Alliance (CPVA), the world’s first assurance framework specifically for solar circularity. ACEN Corp. disclosed the certification to the Philippine Stock Exchange Thursday.
Stubbo Solar received an ‘Exceeds’ rating for its circular-economy practices, which recognize the project’s whole-of-lifecycle approach to managing materials as valuable resources instead of waste.
The certification verifies that the project’s photovoltaic modules and other components have credible pathways for reuse or recycling, assessing the project across planning, procurement, operations, and decommissioning. The framework also reviews supply-chain transparency, waste-minimization plans, and repair programs during operation.
ACEN Australia managing-director David Pollington said the CPVA certification reflects a broader commitment to building an enduring transition.
“Decarbonizing Australia’s energy system is a crucial step, but if we only replace the fuel, we risk repeating the logic of the old extractive model,” Pollington said.
“Circularity challenges us to design for longevity, resilience and renewal, and Stubbo shows what’s possible when those principles are built in from the start,” he said.
CPVA co-founder and chief executive Megan Jones cited the need for the rapidly growing solar industry to incorporate circular decommissioning practices now to ensure long-term environmental sustainability.
“The technology to recycle and reuse solar panels already exists — what’s needed now is the market infrastructure and incentives like CPVA Certified to make it commercially scalable,” Jones said.
“By embedding circularity into a project of this size, ACEN Australia is helping build the demand signals and supply chains that make large-scale recovery viable,” he said.
Stubbo Solar began generating power this year and is expected to reach full commercial operations by the end of November. The project secured a 20-year long-term service agreement in 2021 in the New South Wales Government’s first renewable energy and storage auction.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency estimates that Australia could generate more than 100,000 tons of solar-panel material annually by 2030, highlighting the importance of scaling recycling solutions and infrastructure.
ACEN Australia has more than 1 gigawatt of capacity in operation and over 10 GW of large-scale wind, solar, battery and pumped-hydro projects in development.
