Cornell University
IN-49: Innovation C

Cornell University Sustainability Design students have created a Solar Panel Reboot team that has been researching how to give damaged solar panels a second life. The group has been tirelessly designing, implementing, and testing different methods to refurbish the panels, and then test their power output and performance using a halogen light array system to mimic the sun. The students have repaired damaged panels with liquid resin, epoxy, and polyurethane, and are working to optimize a refurbishing method. So far, many of the refurbished panels been given to Ithaca Re-Use Center, an affordable, reused goods store that serves the entire Ithaca community. The group is also working to partner with local farmers who will be able to use the panels for agricultural production needs, including power for water pumps, fans, lights, small irrigation systems etc. As the solar energy market continues to expand, millions and millions of tons of panels will continue to be considered non-working, making this renewable energy source extremely wasteful if recycling methods can’t recover the valuable resources. By expanding the findings achieved by the Solar Panel Reboot Team, the photovoltaic industry can work to expand solar refurbishing to provide panels (that would normall, be discarded) with a second life, effectively eliminating a huge sector of the industry’s waste.