PVpallet Numbers
Want to know where we get our numbers? Here’s a breakdown of our math as well as some of our primary sources.
Claim: The US solar industry spent more than $420M on packaging CAPEX in 2023. When adding hidden fees like breakage and disposal fees, single use packaging cost the US solar industry more than $1B. Scaled globally, that’s $5.7B in CAPEX alone.
Baseline Numbers:
32.4 GW (32,400 MW) of new capacity installed in the US in 2023 (SEIA)
444 GW of solar installed in 2023 globally (PV Magazine)
400 W-450 W average wattage per solar module (Energy Sage)
30 modules per pallet (Sinovoltaics Group)
$200 average cost per solar module ($.50/watt)
$100 average wood pallet/packaging cost
.86 truckloads per MW of BOS components (i.e. harnesses, ATI material, Cab, LBDS, etc.)
28 stacks of 48x45 pallets per truckload (56 stacked 2 high) (Nelson)
13 stacks of 48x90 pallets per truckload (26 stacked 2 high)
75 pallets per dumpster load
$1500 per dumpster ($200) plus transit to landfill ($1300)
3% average module breakage rate prior to installation
$11 for disposal/recycling costs (average of $2 in disposal fees or $20 in recycling fees per solar module)
The Math:
1 MW / 400W average per solar module = 2500 modules per megawatt
2500 modules / 30 modules per pallet = 83 pallets per megagatt
32,400 MW x 2500 modules per mw = 81M solar modules
32,400 MW x 83 pallets per megawatt = 2.7M pallets for solar modules
2.7M pallets / 26 per truckload = 103,846 truckloads of solar modules
32,400 MW x .86 truckloads = 27,869 truckloads of BOS components
27,869 truckloads x 56 pallets = 1.5M pallets for BOS components
2.7M solar panel pallets + 1.5M BOS component pallets = 4.2M pallets
4.2M pallets x $100 per wood pallet/packaging = $420M wood pallet CAPEX (domestic)
444 GW global installations / 32.4GW domestic installations = Global market is 13.7 x larger than domestic
13.7 x $420M domestic CAPEX = $5.7B in Global Packaging CAPEX
4.2M pallets / 75 per dumpster = 56,000 truckloads of wood pallet waste
56,000 truckloads x $1,500 per load to landfill = $84M wood pallet disposal costs
3% breakage x 81M solar panels = 2.43M broken solar modules
2.43M broken modules x $200 per module = $486M damaged modules
$11 disposal/recycling fees x 2.43 broken modules = $26.7M in broken module disposal/recycling fees
$420M wood pallets + $84M wood pallet disposal + $486M damaged modules + $26.7M solar module disposal = $1B in total single-use packaging costs
Claim: Globally, the Solar Industry spent an $5.7B in packaging CAPEX in 2023.
Baseline Numbers:
32.4 GW (32,400 MW) of new capacity installed in the US in 2023 (SEIA)
444 GW of solar installed in 2023 globally (PV Magazine)
400 W-450 W average wattage per solar module (Energy Sage)
30 modules per pallet (Sinovoltaics Group)
$200 average cost per solar module ($.50/watt)
$100 average wood pallet/packaging cost
.86 truckloads per MW of BOS components (i.e. harnesses, ATI material, Cab, LBDS, etc.)
28 stacks of 48x45 pallets per truckload (56 stacked 2 high) (Nelson)
13 stacks of 48x90 pallets per truckload (26 stacked 2 high)
75 pallets per dumpster load
$1500 per dumpster ($200) plus transit to landfill ($1300)
3% average module breakage rate prior to installation
$11 for disposal/recycling costs (average of $2 in disposal fees or $20 in recycling fees per solar module)
The Math:
444 GW global installations / 32.2 GW domestic installations = Global solar market is 13.7x larger than the US market.
$420M spent on 4.2M wood pallets (domestic) x 13.7 (global increase) = $5.7B in global packaging CAPEX
58,000 truckloads of wood pallet waste cost $84M in disposal/transit fees x 13.7 = $1.1B in disposal/transit fees
3% solar panel breakage rate as a result of wood pallet use led to 2.43M broken panels costing $486M x 13.7 = $6.7B in damaged product
$26.7M in broken panel disposal/recycling fees x 13.7 = $366M in panel disposal fees
Claim: In 2023 alone, the Global Solar Industry used nearly 33 million pallets, which equates to 2.6 billion pounds of wood waste. At an average of 3% breakage prior to installation, nearly 30 million solar modules were broken in a single year.
Baseline Numbers:
444 GW of solar installed in 2023 globally (PV Magazine)
400 W-500 W average wattage per solar module (source)
30 modules per pallet (Sinovoltaics Group)
80 lb average weight per 48” x 90” pallet (freightquote.com)
Based on the 40 lb average weight of a standard 48”x45” pallet4 standard pallets per log, 2 logs per tree = 8 standard pallets per tree (palletconsultants.com)
2-7% modules broken in transit
The Math:
444 GW / 450 W = 987,000,000 solar modules installed globally in 2023
59,000,000 solar modules / 30 panels per pallet = 32,900,000 pallets used by the global solar industry
32,900,000 pallets x 80 lb = 2,632,000,000 pounds of wood pallet waste
32,900,000 pallets / 8 = 2,987,500 trees
987,000,000 solar modules x 3% breakage = 29,620,000 broken solar modules each year
Claim: The solar industry creates 6,640 pounds of wood waste per megawatt installed.
Baseline Numbers:
400 W-450 W average wattage per solar module (Energy Sage)
30 modules per pallet (Sinovoltaics Group)
80 lb average weight per 48” x 90” pallet (freightquote.com)
Based on the 40 lb average weight of a standard 48”x45” pallet.
The Math:
1 MW / 400W average per module = 2500 modules per megawatt
2500 modules / 30 modules per pallet = 83 pallets per megagatt
83 pallets x 80 pounds average pallet = 6,640 pounds per megawatt
Claim: In 2021 alone, the United States Solar Industry used nearly 2 million pallets, which equates to 157 million pounds of wood waste. Globally, 14 million pallets were used for solar modules, equalling 1.1 billion pounds of wood waste.
Baseline Numbers:
23.6 GW of solar installed in 2021 in the United Staes (SEIA)
168 GW of solar installed in 2021 globally (source)
400 W-500 W average wattage per solar module (source)
30 modules per pallet (Sinovoltaics Group)
80 lb average weight per 48” x 90” pallet (freightquote.com)
Based on the 40 lb average weight of a standard 48”x45” pallet4 standard pallets per log, 2 logs per tree = 8 standard pallets per tree (palletconsultants.com)
2-7% modules broken in transit
The Math:
23.6 GW / 400 W = 59,000,000 solar modules installed in 2021 in the United States
59,000,000 solar modules / 30 panels per pallet = 1,966,667 pallets used by the domestic solar industry
1,966,667 pallets x 80 lb = 157,333,360 pounds of wood pallet waste
1,966,667 pallets / 8 = 245,833 trees
168 GW / 400 W = 420,000,000 solar modules installed in 2021 globally
420,000,000 solar modules / 30 modules per pallet = 14,000,000 pallets used by the global solar industry
14,000,000 pallets x 80 lb = 1,120,000,000 pounds of wood pallet waste
14,000,000 pallets / 8 = 1,750,000 trees
Claim: In 2020 alone, the United States Solar Industry used 1,580,000 pallets, which equated to 63,210,000 pounds of wood waste and 198,000 trees.
Baseline Numbers:
19.2 GW of solar installed in 2020 in the United Staes (SEIA)
138.2 GW of solar installed in 2020 globally (source)
400 W-500 W average wattage per solar module (Energy Sage)
30 modules per pallet (Sinovoltaics Group)
40 lb average weight per 48” x 48” standard pallet (freightquote.com)
Note that a pallet for solar modules would be closer to 80lb4 standard pallets per log, 2 logs per tree = 8 standard pallets per tree (palletconsultants.com)
The Math:
19 GW / 400 W = 47,500,000 solar modules installed in 2020 in the United States
47,500,000 solar modules / 30 panels per pallet = 1,583,333 pallets used by the domestic solar industry
1,583,333 pallets x 40 lbs = 63,333,333 pounds of wood pallet waste
1,583,333 pallets / 8 = 197,917 trees
138.2 GW / 450 W = 307,111,111 solar modules installed in 2020 globally
307,111,111 solar modules / 30 modules per pallet = 10,237,000 pallets used by the global solar industry
Claim: 78 million metric tons of solar panels will reach end-of-life by 2050—enough to cover more than 1,000,000 American football fields.
Baseline Numbers:
78 Million metric tons of solar panels could reach end of life by 2050 (Harvard Business Review)
20 kg average solar panel weight
1.6 m x 0.9 m average solar panel size
6,000 square meters average size of an American football field
The Math:
Weight in kilograms: 78,000,000 metric tons x 1000 = 78,000,000,000 kg
Number of Solar Panels: 78,000,000,000 kg/20 kg = 3,900,000,000 solar panels
Area covered: 3,900,000,000 * (1.6 m * 0.9 m) = 7,020,000,000 square meters of solar panels
Number of football fields: 7,020,000,000 sq m / 6,000 sq m = 1,170,000 football fields (approximately)
Claim: Each broken solar module costs a business $800.
Baseline Numbers:
$20-30 recycling fee per module (LA Times)
$200 replacement cost per module
$500 LTL freight to replace the module
$75 labor to ship new module (warehouse + admin)