
The NC Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) launched the annual replace to its photo voltaic decommissioning monitoring report in the present day, titled “The 50 States of Solar Decommissioning: 2025 Snapshot.” The report opinions the 2025 state photo voltaic decommissioning coverage panorama, masking legislative updates on decommissioning planning, monetary assurance and recycling for photo voltaic and co-located battery storage methods.
“As solar project decommissioning has turn into a big focus for state legislatures, native officers, mission builders and communities, the fast build-out of battery storage methods, whether or not co-located or standalone, has additionally introduced rising consideration to the decommissioning of storage applied sciences,” stated Justin Lindemann, senior coverage analyst at NCCETC and lead writer of the report. “Battery system well being and security — together with recycling and deconstruction — has risen amongst neighborhood issues, as have questions surrounding photo voltaic mission decommissioning, and lawmakers in a number of states are working to get forward of potential future challenges.”
Credit score: NC Clear Vitality Expertise Middle
The 2025 snapshot finds that 23 states have a statewide coverage for photo voltaic decommissioning, 10 states have a statewide/native hybrid coverage, one state has a statewide non-compulsory coverage and one state gives an official mannequin template that native governments could undertake. Greater than half of all states had legislative actions associated to photo voltaic and storage decommissioning and recycling in 2025, greater than double the variety of states in comparison with 2024, with the Northeast and Southeast exhibiting probably the most exercise, alongside developments within the West, as states are contemplating decommissioning a severe and near-term component of a mission’s lifespan.
The report identifies a number of decommissioning coverage tendencies. Extra states are adopting insurance policies to deal with battery storage system decommissioning – together with standalone, co-located and front-of-the-meter tasks. States are more and more requiring mission homeowners and builders to offer monetary assurance for battery storage amenities. Recycling has turn into a central characteristic of photo voltaic decommissioning insurance policies, with some states extending necessities to storage methods and mandating recycling the place potential. As well as, some states allow landowners to affect the decommissioning course of by modifications to project-related plans and agreements.
Within the Southwest, Texas handed legal guidelines mandating the recycling/disposal of photo voltaic parts and setting decommissioning and monetary assurance guidelines for battery storage, together with co-located methods. Oklahoma enacted the Business Photo voltaic Facility Decommissioning Act, requiring removing, technical requirements and monetary assurance for giant photo voltaic tasks, including extra element to its present statute. Nevada now requires distributed technology homeowners to file photo voltaic panel end-of-life plans with a minimal 90% recycling price, and tasks over 70 MW should embody full decommissioning and land restoration particulars.
In japanese areas, Arkansas requires photo voltaic builders on agricultural land to signal remediation agreements with landowners that embody deconstruction requirements and monetary assurance. Maryland created a certificates of public comfort and necessity for 2- to 5-MW neighborhood photo voltaic tasks, with standardized siting and decommissioning guidelines by 2026 and surety bonds up to date each 5 years.
Information merchandise from the NC Clear Vitality Expertise Middle
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