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REC Annual Report 2011
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through participation in community affiliations. REC Silicon is currently
involved in or supporting local emergency planning committees,
hospitals, and local fire departments. REC Silicon also operates an
employee volunteer program, where employees can personally support
community projects and organizations, with the support of senior
management.
RECWafer supports local community activities for children and youth,
while there were no specific charity donations in Singapore.
Memberships
REC is a member of various industry bodies and organizations. REC has
been a full member of PVCYCLE since 2008. PVCYCLE is a not-for-
profit association of solar manufacturers, working to establish
operational collection and recycling solutions for end-of-life PVmodules.
REC has been represented on the Board since 2010. REC is also active in
several of the working groups of the European Photovoltaic Industry
Association (EPIA), e.g. the Sustainability DevelopmentWorking Group.
Through our membership in EPIA, we contribute to the European
development of predictable, sustainable and just frame conditions for
solar energy.
REC is also supporting Bellona (NGO), in their work to strive for
increased use of solar energy, through influence on political energy and
climate processes.
Product responsibility
The process of further developing products, whether it is lower cost
polysilicon, thinner wafers, more efficient solar cells or attractive solar
panels, is a continuous process at REC. While commercial considerations
are critical for the technological innovations, additional factors like
environmental, safety and health impact plays an increasingly important
role. The market development pushes REC to provide highly efficient
products at a low cost, and at the same time remain a responsible citizen.
REC has adopted the principle of product stewardship promoting the
development of reduced health and environmental impacts from our
products. Product stewardship is seeked ensured in the whole lifecycle
fromR&D, design, sourcing, manufacturing, distribution, installation,
operation, maintenance, decommissioning through disposal as well as
recycling. All products are in compliance with relevant prevailing
legislative regulations. The table below indicates the life cycle stages
where health and safety impacts for the various product categories are
assessed for improvement.
Life cycle stages where health and safety impacts of
the products are assessed for improvement
STAGE
POLYSILICON
SILICON
GASES WAFERS MODULES
Development of product concept
x
x
x
Research & development
x
x
x
Certification
x
x
Manufacturing and production
x
x
x
Marketing and promotion
x
x
x
x
Storage distribution and supply
x
x
Product use and service
x
x
Disposal, reuse or recycling
x
x
Product certifications
RECmodules are designed to meet the highest quality standards and
provide stable output over the lifetime of the product. Our most recent
solar module, the REC Peak Energy Series, is certified according to CE,
UL 1703, IEC 61215 and IEC 61730. Our internal qualification
requirements exceed the requirements in the referenced standards.
REC wafers and modules are also certified to benefit from the ten
percent premium available as part of an Italian photovoltaic incentive
scheme for solar systems containing European components.
Material and product safety
REC Silicon provides material safety data sheets (MSDS) for all of its
product families. The data sheets are available online on the REC
website in a variety of languages, and provide details of all relevant
classifications or regulatory information required for respective
countries and regions.
The data sheets provide, alongside other pertinent information,
information on the product content, the safe use of the product and
emergency response, toxicological and ecological information, and
advice on product disposal. REC Silicon also publishes additional
technical notices to address other specific issues encountered where
advice is required. Customers are also provided upon request, with
declarations that products are compliant according to relevant
legislations such as REACH, RoHS, and theWEEE Directives.
REC Solar provides product data sheets as well as installation
instructions and guidelines for modules to ensure the product safety
for the customers.
Recycling of modules
Waste management is a part of REC’s approach to a sustainable solar
energy industry. The EU Directive onWaste from Electrical and
Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is a directive governing the handling of
waste from the producers of electrical and electronic equipment. PV is
not included in the currentWEEE directive, but is included in the recast
of the directive that will come into force in 2012. With the long lifetime
of PVmodules and most PV systems being installed quite recently, the
current volumes of PVmodule waste are low. The European PV industry,
through the association PVCYCLE, is dedicated to the collection and
recycling of end-of-life PVmodules, focusing on establishing collective
solutions in Europe for fulfilling the potential WEEE requirements.
REC supports the work undertaken by PVCYCLE, and is using this
common platform to work towards a cost efficient and sustainable
system for the collection and recycling of PVmodules at the end of their
lifetime.