New fee for disposing of old photovoltaic panels. It's better to check the production date.

• Owners of pre-2016 panels will be charged for their disposal.
• Individuals will not be subject to the fee.
• Users must provide documentation confirming the date the panels were introduced to the market.

An amendment to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act will come into force in October, including changes to fees for the disposal of used photovoltaic modules. The fee applies to owners of pre-2016 PV installations and will not apply to individuals, i.e., ordinary households . However, it will be mandatory for companies, public entities, and farmers.

How can I check if I am one of those who will have to pay for the disposal of modules?

Determining whether panels qualify as old equipment, and therefore primarily when they were introduced to the market, is possible thanks to the technical documentation of the used equipment - writes GLOBEnergia.

This should be clear evidence of the model's introduction date. This documentation should be found in the purchase documents . If the module purchase documents are simply missing, warranty or device certificates may be an alternative option.

Another option is data printed on the panels themselves. Each panel should have plates, labels, or markings that indicate the market launch date, notes GLOBEnergia.

If there is no clear information regarding the market launch date of a given model, the device user may be required to provide additional evidence confirming the relevant dates. These documents may include, for example, technical acceptance reports.

The last resort seems to be to contact the module manufacturer or installation company to obtain confirmation of the date of introduction of the panels to the market.

As the website writes, it is not yet known in what situations specific documents will be required or accepted, but it is known that users will be responsible for providing the appropriate data about the modules.