Freiburg Residents Give 600 Retired Solar Panels a Second Life

The panels, which previously operated for 13 years atop a Black Forest toothbrush factory, were salvaged and refitted into 300 plug-in photovoltaic systems. While testing revealed that approximately 5% of the salvaged units were defective, the majority remained fully operational. Each assembled system includes two modules, a microinverter, and necessary cabling, provided to local participants at no cost through the City of Freiburg's Solar Summer program.

Hoymiles supplied the 300 microinverters required to complete the installations. Because these devices feature independent maximum power point tracking, they allow older modules with varying wear or orientation to function efficiently within a single system. Sebastian Müller, chair of BalkonSolar e.V., noted that the project proves discarded equipment can be safely repurposed for domestic use rather than discarded. Hoymiles CEO Dr. Yang Bo emphasized that this initiative aligns with the company's broader push to make renewable energy more accessible through responsible resource management.