Set a module's area or rated power. The calculator splits its mass into glass, aluminium, silicon, polymers, copper and silver, applies a recovery yield to each material, and values the recovered kilograms at prices you set. The result is shown per module and per MWp, and set against the EU WEEE targets and the Chilean Decree No. 22 targets for PV panels.
Crystalline silicon only. Yields and prices are assumptions you can change, each labelled with its source. The value is gross: it excludes collection, transport, dismantling, processing and losses.
A typical crystalline-silicon module is about 76 % glass, 10 % polymers, 8 % aluminium, 5 % silicon and 1 % copper by mass (IRENA and IEA-PVPS 2016, section 3.1, p.41). Silver is entered in grams, because the same source gives its content per panel.
Each material's yield is editable. Each default comes from a published figure, a single study or our own assumption, and its label says which. Polymers default to 0 %, because no source gives a yield for them.
Recovered kilograms times a price per kilogram you set. The starting prices are placeholders, not quotes. The recovered share of module mass is then set against the EU WEEE targets and the Chilean schedule, with the limits of that comparison stated.
Changing any field updates the results below at once. Without JavaScript the page still shows the worked example for the default module.
VERIFIED References A and B: mass, power and size from JRC EUR 27797 (2016), Table 2, p.18, 2011 and 2013 data sets. Reference A is 165 × 99 cm, which gives 1.63 m². The same typical composition, from IRENA and IEA-PVPS (2016), section 3.1, p.41, applies to every preset. The JRC table gives each reference its own split, with glass at 74.16 % (Reference A) and 80.10 % (Reference B) of module weight. This calculator does not use those splits.
Power and area are linked through Wp/m². If you edit kg/m² or Wp/m², the module type switches to custom, which is ILLUSTRATIVE.
ILLUSTRATIVE These prices are placeholders, not market quotes. They let the calculator run. Replace each one with a current quote before you read the value. Silver can make up a large part of the value, so check its price first.
Per MWp uses nominal DC power: a module's own rated power sets how many modules make one megawatt-peak.
ESTIMATED Every figure in this section is our calculation from the inputs above, not a measured recovery.
| Material | In module (kg) | Yield (%) | Recovered per module (kg) | Value per module (US$) | Recovered per MWp (kg) | Value per MWp (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glass | 16.72 | 85 % | 14.21 | 0.43 | 66,102 | 1,983 |
| Aluminium | 1.76 | 85 % | 1.50 | 2.24 | 6,958 | 10,437 |
| Silicon | 1.10 | 80 % | 0.88 | 1.76 | 4,093 | 8,186 |
| Polymers | 2.20 | 0 % | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 |
| Copper | 0.22 | 85 % | 0.19 | 1.50 | 870 | 6,958 |
| Silver | 0.0080 | 92 % | 0.0074 | 5.89 | 34 | 27,386 |
| Total | 22.00 | 76.3 % | 16.78 | 11.81 | 78,057 | 54,950 |
Polymers are at 0 % by default, because we found no verified material-recovery yield for them. No polymer value is counted.
ILLUSTRATIVE Prices are placeholders unless you have replaced them with your own quotes.
76.3 % of module mass; target 85 %: below by 8.7 points.
76.3 % of module mass; target 80 %: below by 3.7 points.
Year 10 and later. 76.3 % of module mass; target 50 %: above by 26.3 points.
Not a compliance test. The WEEE rate counts the weight entering recovery facilities (Article 11(2)). The facts we checked do not state the basis of the Chilean percentages. This page measures material recovered per unit of module mass, a stricter proxy.
Gross value at the prices you entered. It is not a profit, saving or return estimate. Collection, transport, dismantling, processing and losses are not included.
Directive 2012/19/EU, Annex V, Part 3(a), applies from 15 August 2018 to the WEEE category that includes PV panels:
The Directive sets no PV-specific collection rate. Directive (EU) 2024/884 requires the Commission's review to consider a separate PV category and PV collection targets. Those are options for that review. They are not in force.
Article 25 of the decree sets a target for PV panels by year on the schedule. PV producers must meet it only with PV waste. The targets take effect 24 months after the decree was published on 7 May 2026 (article 49).
The decree states that about 90 % of a panel is made of recyclable materials, such as glass and aluminium (considerando 25). That is a composition statement, not a recovery rate. It says what a panel is made of, not how much of it is recovered, and this page does not test it. Recovery rates come from the studies cited for each yield in the calculator, not from the decree.
The block below shows the stock check and the target schedule for Chile. Both come from the same data file as the circularity page, so the two pages show the same figures. The block gives no tonnes to collect, because the basis the decree uses for these percentages is still being read.
Reading of the official texts, not reviewed by legal counsel. It is not legal advice. Where the text is open to interpretation, as with the start date of Article 25, we say so.
VERIFIED Schedule: Decreto Núm. 22, Ministerio del Medio Ambiente, Diario Oficial Núm. 44.443 (7 May 2026), article 25. ESTIMATED Stock check: our arithmetic from installed capacity and a range of mass per kilowatt. The block gives the source of each input.
The WEEE rate counts the weight of WEEE that enters a recovery or preparation facility after proper treatment, divided by the weight collected (Article 11(2)). This page divides the material it recovers by the module's mass. It counts only the material recovered, not all the weight that enters a recovery facility, so it is a stricter proxy and cannot say whether a plant meets a target. The facts we checked do not state the basis of the Chilean percentages, so check article 25 before you read them as a weight share.
We do not recommend manufacturers or brands, and no figure here describes a named plant or system. Figures are labelled VERIFIED (published by a source), ESTIMATED (our calculation from declared assumptions) or ILLUSTRATIVE (a placeholder or template).
Write with the number of modules, the nameplate power, the module type, and the recovery route you are considering. We scope the work to your fleet and your data.
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