Subcommittee advances bill requiring large-scale solar panels to be recycled, sets $20 per-panel penalty for landfill disposal

House Bill 320, sponsored by Representative Trey Kelly, would require that panels removed from large, utility‑scale solar power facilities be taken to legitimate recycling facilities rather than disposed in municipal landfills. The bill applies to large commercial solar projects as defined in existing code and does not target residential or small installations, Kelly said.

"When those panels reach their end of life, that we require them to be taken to a solar recycling facility," Representative Trey Kelly said while presenting the measure. Kelly described the bill as a market‑driven approach the state can use to avoid future landfill pressure as solar capacity grows.

Kelly and witnesses cited several figures during the hearing: the state currently has roughly 7,300 megawatts of installed solar capacity, and lawmakers heard an estimate of about 3,600 additional megawatts expected in the next five years, which would raise total capacity to roughly 10,900 megawatts. The sponsor said one megawatt is roughly equal to 3,500 panels and estimated the state could see tens of millions of panels reach end of life in coming decades; he and industry witnesses used an estimate of about 425,000 tons of discarded panels by 2050.

Under the bill, companies that dispose of panels in a landfill could face a civil penalty of $20 per panel. Kelly said the amount was chosen to make landfill disposal more expensive than legitimate recycling while avoiding an excessive penalty. "We chose $20 because it's not, in my mind, excessive, but it was reasonable as to what it costs to actually recycle a panel," Kelly said.

Industry witnesses told the committee they support the approach. Scott Moskowitz, vice president of market strategy and industry affairs at Q Cells, described the bill as "an extremely straightforward, administrable, and notably a market driven framework" that would help build an end‑to‑end domestic supply chain for solar manufacturing and recycling without state fiscal cost. He said Q Cells and other manufacturers have invested heavily in Georgia manufacturing and that a recycling ecosystem would preserve the state's competitive advantage for clean‑energy industry investment.

Edward Lindsey, a partner at Dentons testifying on behalf of recycler Pedal Point, said the solar industry can recover large shares of panel materials and estimated that "about 99% of our solar panels can be recycled," including glass, silicon, silver and other metals. Lindsey and other witnesses said recycling can reduce the need for new mineral extraction and prevent hazardous substances from entering landfills in states where panels containing cadmium or other materials have contaminated sites.

Committee members questioned enforcement, whether existing recyclers can handle projected volumes and the adequacy of a $20 penalty. Representative McCollum asked whether companies would comply; Kelly responded that the bill creates a penalty mechanism and that recycling costs are expected to be lower than the penalty. Representative Davis and others pressed on the risk posed by panels made with heavy metals; witnesses said many modern panels are manufactured without those materials but older or non‑domestic panels can contain hazardous elements and that recycling reduces disposal risk.

Representative Williams moved that the subcommittee give HB320 a favorable report to the full committee. The committee approved the motion and directed that the bill be placed on the subcommittee's report for full committee consideration; the hearing record does not include a roll‑call tally.

Industry testimony at the hearing named several in‑state recycling efforts and companies — including Q Cells, Solar Cycle and Pedal Point — and presenters said they expect capacity to grow as market demand increases. Supporters described the bill as forward‑looking policy intended to prevent Georgia from becoming a disposal destination as other states tighten disposal rules.