A PV array or a batch of modules at the end of its first use has four exits: keep operating, repower and resell the modules, reuse them off-grid or in small loads, or recycle. The exits can be worth very different amounts. This grades all four on one basis, net value in US$ per W of nameplate at the decision, and writes out the reasons. Every assumption is editable and labelled with its provenance. Nothing leaves your browser: there is no upload and no account, and the grader sends no data to any server.
Seven values. Use a sample of modules when you have one; the defect count is the average per module. Rough values are fine: each route lists the assumptions it uses, so you can see which ones drive it.
Each value carries a provenance tag. VERIFIED means a published figure we checked. ESTIMATED means our reading of a published figure. ILLUSTRATIVE means a placeholder: replace it with your own quote or data.
EnergyBin, H1 2026 PV Module Price Index, section “Prices reach lowest levels in two years”: used modules on a US resale exchange averaged 0.100 US$/W. A US figure, not your market. Source
Testing every module for resale or reuse. Use your test lab's quote.
Dismantling, handling and transport of the whole array. Use your contractor's quote.
Recycling cost after recovered-material value. A negative value means net income. Depends on your recycler contract.
Share of the used-module price reached for off-grid or small-load reuse. We found no verified price for this use.
Replace with PVGIS or your monitoring data for the site.
Tariff or contract price minus O&M, per kWh. A zero or negative margin makes operating worth nothing.
Median fleet performance loss: 0.75 % per year, from 4,915 inverters. NREL, PV Fleet Performance Data Initiative (2025), OSTI 2522744, p. 17.
Years of operation counted from installation. Use the term in your module datasheet.
Applied to future margin when keeping the array.
Victorian government guidance says a good-quality inverter should last at least 10 years if installed properly (Solar Victoria, Section 8, “Inverter warranty”). We read that as the replacement point.
Cost of a replacement inverter per W. Use your installer's quote.
Cost of replacing one faulty module, per W. EnergyBin's H1 2026 new-module resale range is 0.140–0.201 US$/W (EnergyBin, H1 2026 PV Module Price Index): a resale comparator, not a purchase price.
Suggested threshold: remaining power above 70 % of initial value. The imec and PV CYCLE study suggests it; it is not a measured reuse rate. pv magazine, 8 March 2021.
ESTIMATED This ranking is modelled from the values you entered. Nothing was uploaded, and the grader sent no data to a server.
What this is and is not. This is a first-order screen built from the assumptions shown, not a condition assessment and not a certified grade. It cannot see module-level cell cracks, thermal history, or what a site visit finds. Change one assumption at a time to see which one moves the ranking, then replace the illustrative values with quotes and module-level test data.
Four exits, one screen, and the same basis for all of them. Each rule is shown so that you can check it.
| Step | What it does | Provenance |
|---|---|---|
| Module screen | Pass share = (1 − hot-spot share) × (1 − 0.5 × min(1, defects ÷ 10)) × insulation factor (pass 1, marginal 0.8, fail 0) × min(1, power ÷ screening threshold). Replace share = min(1, hot-spot share + min(1, defects ÷ 10)). | ILLUSTRATIVE rule; threshold VERIFIED |
| Keep operating | Discounted net margin for the remaining years to the horizon, falling by the performance loss rate. One inverter replacement is charged if it falls inside the horizon. Faulty modules are replaced today. Blocked while insulation fails. | Loss rate VERIFIED; inverter point ESTIMATED; rest ILLUSTRATIVE |
| Repower and resell | Pass share × used price, minus testing and removal, minus recycling of the rest. The replacement array is a separate investment and is not counted. | Used price VERIFIED reference; costs ILLUSTRATIVE |
| Reuse off-grid or in small loads | As repower, with the passing modules sold at the off-grid share of the used price. Buyer demand is not modelled. | ILLUSTRATIVE |
| Recycle | Removal plus recycling, as a net cost. No testing and no resale income. | ILLUSTRATIVE |
A large replacement share, an inverter that falls due inside the horizon, or a zero margin each reduce the keep value. Under the defaults, an old array with many hot spots is worth more resold, reused or recycled than kept. That is a result of the assumptions, so change them and watch the ranking move.
We found no verified used-module price for Chile or the EU. The EU index we found mixes used modules with other stock, so it is not a used-module price. We found no verified price for off-grid reuse, and no measured volume for the used-module market: registries do not record it. The inputs in this tool are where those gaps show up.
A browser screen can rule exits out. A grade with module-level tests, the warranty terms and the contract in hand is what decides between them.
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