This year at RE+, PVpallet’s CEO Philip Schwarz presented alongside Ryan Schofield, Vice President of Premier PV, about how utility scale projects can benefit from reusable packaging. During their presentation, Philip and Ryan addressed the challenges posed by single-use packaging and provided insights on how reusable packaging can be successfully integrated into the utility solar supply chain. Here are some key takeaways from their discussion.

Is reusable packaging really better for the planet than single-use packaging? To find the answer, we spearheaded an in-depth Life Cycle Assessment with third party research organization, Kleinfelder. The study compared manufacturing processes, distribution networks, and a variety of use scenarios between single-use wood pallet and reusable PVpallet solar panel shipping systems. And the numbers surpassed our expectations.

A recent Solar Power World article discusses the challenges of protecting solar panels during shipping, handling, and storage. Despite their durability, panels are vulnerable to damage in transit, with breakage rates of 1-2%. The industry is pushing for improved testing and handling standards to better safeguard panels, thereby minimizing losses and increasing efficiency.

We’ve been keeping a big secret. For several months, PVpallet has been working diligently behind the scenes on a custom project for Heliene, one of North America’s fastest-growing domestic module manufacturers. We finally made the big reveal at the Midwest Solar Expo in Chicago.

For the solar and clean energy sectors, sustainability, innovation, and efficiency are paramount. A company’s packaging choice is an impactful, yet often overlooked, way to achieve these objectives. Reusable packaging is emerging as a strategic asset that checks all the boxes.

Our Director of Marketing, Vanessa Benkert, was a guest on the PowerFlow Podcast. In this episode, she shares her passion for working in the renewable energy field, the power of storytelling and innovation, and an overlooked, yet important piece of the solar puzzle: transporting solar panels with reusable packaging.

Preventing waste through reusable packaging and ensuring the waste at solar installations bypasses the landfill are both necessary approaches to tackling the 1.1 billion pounds of wood waste and millions of broken solar panels created each year by the solar industry. We sat down with Emilie Oxel O’Leary and Philip Schwarz to discuss actionable ways we can create impactful change.

The solar industry is experiencing exponential growth, resulting in an impending surge of end-of-life solar panel waste. Learn how the 5Rs of zero waste – refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, recycle – can help change the narrative and pave the path to a greener future.

Continued sustainability efforts within the renewable energy industry have led to a vital debate: wood pallets vs. reusable pallets. Wood pallets are the standard, but are they the best solution for your solar business? From product breakage to packaging CAPEX, there are many factors to consider as you weigh your solar module packaging options.

Many savvy business owners have come to a single conclusion: what’s good for the planet can also be good for their bottom line. The category of “sustainable practice” is widening. But after we’ve already implemented the “obvious” ways to reduce our carbon footprint, like adopting renewable energy sources such as solar power and supporting green initiatives, where do we look next?

At $740 billion, the Inflation Reduction Act is the United States’ single most significant investment in a clean energy future. The long-term stability of benefits to homeowners and business owners also ensures demand within the solar industry for the next 10 years. Here’s how the Act could impact you.

The next time you pour milk over your cereal or drink bottled water, take a close look at the packaging. You’ll find a small triangle of arrows ringed around a numeral from 1 to 7. This resin code designates the type of plastic for that container - and determines how you can recycle it.

It could be argued that the Solar PV industry is one of the more sustainable industries on the planet. But is it?

“At PVpallet, we’re committed to sustainability and the environment,” PVpallet Co-Founder Philip Schwarz explains. “Joining 1% for the Planet allows us to go beyond providing a solution to reduce waste in the solar industry for the future; it allows us to help restore some of the damage that has already taken place. This is a great way for us to give back.”

Whether we realize it or not, the answer to this question impacts our day-to-day lives and increasingly shapes our economic and environmental futures. It also has everything to do with linear vs. circular economies.

Millions of tons of wood waste are either burned, ground in wood chippers, or thrown into landfills each year. Ironically, a significant amount of that wood waste comes from the pallets the solar industry has thrown out. We have a problem.