This paper takes Shandong Province as example, one of the most aggressive regions in solar energy adoption in China, to examine the economic feasibility of recycling thin-film PV modules. Based on China 8760 electric power grid model and potential of solar demand, total installed capacity of solar photovoltaic cells and spatial distribution in 2050 are estimated. Benefit-cost analysis is conducted for the recycling of CIGS thin-film PV modules through the material flow analysis under three scenarios: 1) economy of scale, with one centralized recycling facility serving the whole province; 2) convenience for users, with two large recycling facilities closed to most populated cities, i.e. Jinan and Qingdao; 3) producer responsibility, four major PV producers in Shandong take back the end-of-life products and build recycling facilities close to their plants. The result shows that solution 3 has cost advantage in take back transportation. The paper discusses the potential to encourage producer responsibility in the PV manufacturing sector, and its implication in the entire energy industry.