Comstock Metals LLC has received its Written Determination Permit from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection – Bureau of Sustainable Materials Management (NDEP-BSMM) so it can process solar panels and PV waste for its industry-first, large scale materials recovery facility in Silver Springs, NV.
This permit is the latest approval the company has received, complementing its Air Quality Control permit and completing the full set of regulatory requirements needed to commission a facility capable of processing more than 3 million panels annually—equivalent to up to 100,000 tons of waste material.
The facility will integrate technologies that crush, condition, extract, and recycle metal concentrates from photovoltaics. It is scheduled to become operational by Q1 2026.
“We appreciate BSMM’s collaborative engagement in issuing the first industry-scale Written Determination permit for solar panel recycling, a key regulatory milestone that enables Nevada’s only zero-landfill, high-volume, end-of-life solar panel recycling solution serving the broader region,” said Dr. Fortunato Villamagna, President of Comstock Metals, in a statement. “This authorization aligns with our original permitting timeline and reflects the effectiveness of our regulatory strategy, the strength of our relationships with regulators, and the successful execution of a complex, first-of-its-kind permitting process.”
A significant share of solar panels installed in the southwestern U.S., especially in California, Arizona, and Nevada, are entering the decommissioning phase, increasing demand for environmentally responsible end-of-life solutions.
By establishing its platform in Nevada, Comstock has become one of the leading companies focused on solar recycling, readying itself for rapid expansion across the rest of the country.
“Comstock Metals is setting the global standard in solar panel recycling by creating a scalable, reliable, efficient, and optimized network of decommissioning, collecting, aggregating, storing and full-recovery processing (and ultimately refining) nodes designed and built for speed and scale,” said Corrado De Gasperis, Executive Chairman and CEO of Comstock. “Most of the industry is still getting their heads around the magnitude of inevitable end of life panel dilemma, measured in the billions of panels, while we deploy and deliver a full end of life solution.”
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