US-based Comstock Inc. and its subsidiary Comstock Metals announced that their solar panel recycling production system in Silver Springs, Nevada, is now running continuously, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The company says the plant, which recycles end-of-life panels instead of sending them to storage or landfill, is North America’s first certified operation of its kind.
Comstock Metals President Dr Fortunato Villamagna said continuous production began after preparations with a four-shift team.
Capacity for end-of-life panels
According to the company, the continuous production model offers utility-scale solar customers a high-volume, zero-storage solution. Customers receive audit-ready, certified chain-of-custody documents showing that end-of-life obligations for their panels have been met. Comstock said it will scale its production platform in line with growing customer demand.
The company points out that, as the installed panel base approaches the end of its service life, the volume of panels needing processing is expected to grow far beyond the industry’s current capacity. Alongside Silver Springs, it says it is preparing to handle this flow with storage facilities in Hanford, California, and Cambridge, Ohio.
Recovering aluminium, glass and metals
According to the Comstock Metals website, the company’s process fully separates and removes the adhesives, encapsulants and plastics in panels to yield aluminium flakes, glass granules and metal residues, which are returned to industrial supply chains.
Comstock Inc. CEO Corrado De Gasperis said the move to continuous production is the most meaningful operational milestone to date for its recycling platforms, that the company believes the technical uncertainties of commissioning the system at scale for the first time have been overcome, and that its focus is now on increasing volumes.
Sources
- Comstock Inc., “Comstock Metals Commences 24/7 Operations for Solar Panel Recycling”, press release, 22.09.2026 – GlobeNewswire
- Comstock Metals, product and process information – comstockmetals.com
Image: Comstock Metals
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