Diving Into data
Her official title is Circularity Research Analyst, but she also answers to Resident Nerd.
Meet Finley Collins, the person behind SPR’s data-driven decision-making.
“My job is to analyze and maximize our operational efficiency, stay on top of evolving technology trends, and establish relationships with downstream partners so they can put our recovered materials into as many applications as possible,” Finley explains.
As SPR works to make solar panel recycling more accessible, Finley’s research supports two priorities: making it cost-effective, both economically and environmentally. That second part is critical to keeping the solar lifecycle as clean as possible and involves one of her favorite challenges: crunching numbers in Excel.
“I have to simultaneously take a macro and micro view of the recycling process to help us make the best business decisions for our clients and for the environment. I’m zooming in and out all the time, and I love it.”
-Finley Collins
SPR’s carbon calculator, developed in-house by Finley, is one example of how big-picture impact is shaped by small details.
Its purpose sounds simple: calculate carbon emissions saved and spent for each recycling project. But creating those calculations was not.
Solar panels vary widely in their construction, with little existing documentation on some components. Take junction boxes, for example—the small but mighty plastic enclosure mounted on the back of panels where the PV strings are electrically connected. During her research, Finley found a lack of information on their embodied carbon, or the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their extraction, manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance, and disposal.
So she sourced the data herself.
“I went through our stock of junction boxes, taking them apart, weighing each component, and using our XRF analyzer to see the metals inside of them in order to categorize their composition. From there, I was able to put the pieces of the puzzle together. I did that for every component in common solar panels,” Finley recalls, describing a process that was part research, part detective work.
Using data such as transportation routes, shipment weights, and panel material composition, the calculator compares CO₂e emissions across landfilling, overseas shipping, recycling at different facilities, and virgin material production, so clients can see how processing through SPR’s network of recycling facilities reduces emissions.
The tool helps SPR identify the lowest-emissions processing route for each project. At SPR’s scale, those choices matter. The company is currently processing one million panels for a single repower project, so even small operational improvements produce significant emissions savings.
SPR’s commitment to continuous investigation is what drew Finley to SPR. After interning with SPR while earning her Master of Science in Renewable Energy Technology, she landed what she calls her dream job.
“I love getting to conduct research and contribute information on best practices to the industry. That’s part of our company’s DNA,” she reflects. Five years of Research & Development went into launching SPR, and that commitment continues today through advancing technology and making data-driven decisions that benefit both our clients and the environment.
That curiosity extends beyond work. Finley is also an artist who works across multiple mediums, bringing the same attention to detail and exploration to her artwork that she brings to her research.
Whether she’s analyzing a solar panel or working on a painting, SPR’s Resident Nerd is always focused on the bigger picture.
