Solar opponents attempt to create Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt about Utility-Scale Solar. One myth they spread claims cadmium telluride PV are exremly toxic.
In fact the cadmium in cadmium telluride (CdTe) PV panels is a non-soluble material; soluble neither in water nor in other solvents. For this reason, the probability that broken pieces of this material left in water or in the soil might release cadmium is extremely low, as proven by different scientific reports. Moreover, we have to recall that this is a thin-film technology where a large solar module with a size of 1 square meter has a cadmium content that is lower than the cadmium contained in an AAA-size Ni-Cd battery. Furthermore, the cadmium within the solar module is bound to tellurium, unlike the cadmium contained in a nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) battery. The cadmium within the solar module is, therefore, no threat to the environment.
A large solar farm will at end of life present a large number of panels that can all be collected with one large scale operation and will thus justify the effort to recycle them.