Reno, Nev. – This week, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) toured Comstock Metals’ new solar panel recycling facility in Silver Springs, Nevada, to highlight the state’s growing clean energy economy and new jobs coming to the region. This brand-new demonstration facility is one of the only sites in the Western U.S. that specializes in recycling and processing solar panels that have reached the end of their useful life. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that by 2030, there will be up to one million tons of solar waste.
“This brand-new facility is a vital first step to keeping thousands of solar panels out of landfills each year, while creating jobs and growing rural Nevada’s economy,” said Senator Cortez Masto.“Nevada is leading the way in sustainability and innovation, and I’ll continue to do everything I can to support our state’s booming clean energy economy.”
“We are very appreciative of Senator Cortez Masto’s support and thank her for visiting Comstock’s first-of-kind solar panel recycling facility in Silver Springs,” said Corrado De Gasperis, Executive Chairman and CEO of Comstock Inc. “This is a remarkable milestone for Comstock Metals, the clean energy economy, and the communities of northern Nevada.”
Through her Innovation State Initiative, Senator Cortez Masto’s federal support has helped grow demand for solar energy in Nevada and across the U.S. She led the fight to deliver key tax credits, including the 48C tax credits, in the Inflation Reduction Act that are helping increase solar investments in Nevada and boosting innovative clean energy companies across the country. She successfully pushed the Biden Administration to protect the solar industry from job-killing tariffs and has legislation to boost domestic solar manufacturing. She also wrote important provisions of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to bolster Nevada’s critical mineral supply chain and fund battery recycling and manufacturing programs in the state. Last year, Cortez Masto helped Comstock Fuels secure a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to help Comstock Fuels research biofuel production at another facility in Nevada. Comstock has developed an innovative and cost-effective process that produces sustainable, renewable fuel from wood byproducts.
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