August, 2022
It has been one year since SERI submitted the formal Project Initiation Notification with ANSI to kick-off the process for adding solar panels to the R2 Standard. Since that time, the R2 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) established a workgroup to examine the applicability of the R2 requirements for solar panels and to begin writing new solar requirements. It is expected that the workgroup will have a draft of the requirements for the broader TAC review by the end of 2022.
After the TAC reviews and considers each of the proposed changes and additions to the standard, the complete draft will be released for public review and comment. It is expected the 45-day public comment period will be held in the first quarter of 2023. And, as with any revision to the R2 Standard, all public comments received on the draft changes will be reviewed by the TAC and considered for additional possible changes. This public review process will continue until the TAC determines no further changes to the standard are required.
You may be wondering what these changes will mean for the broader R2 Standard. Well, what’s important to remember is that the R2v3 Standard was restructured to include Core Requirements that are applicable to all R2 Facilities, and Process Requirements that apply only to those facilities that perform those operations. This structure is expected to enable the addition of specific solar panel requirements in a standalone appendix, without affecting the core of the R2 Standard.
This means that if your facility does not manage solar panels, these changes won’t impact your R2 Certification or operations.
However, for those that do manage solar panels, it is anticipated that it will be around the third quarter of 2023 that the final revision will be released, allowing facilities to begin certifying to R2 for solar panel reuse and recycling. Of course, existing R2 Facilities managing solar panels will require some time to review the new requirements and make changes to any processes and procedures. So, we anticipate there will be an 18-month transition period for R2 Certified facilities to add the solar panel processes to their active R2 certification.
