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Abstract
The deployment of solar panels continues to grow, putting pressure on the back side of this industry related to decommissioning and disposal. At end-of-life, solar panels are often disposed of in landfills but with significant waste volume. Though there have been Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) studies conducted to analyze the effects of adding panel recycling methods, this study will focus on a comparison of solar photovoltaic (PV) panel LCOE with and without solar panel recycling in two regions of the United States: Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) and California Independent System Operator (CAISO). This research explores the driving factors for cost differences across the United States for solar PV and its effects on the potential adoption of solar panel recycling. It will further undergo an analysis with a range of interest rates due to fluctuating market variability and its impact on the economic feasibility of solar panel recycling. INDEX WORDS: LCOE, Solar panel recycling, Utility-scale