The NC Center for Clean Energy Technology (NCCETC) today released the annual update to its solar decommissioning tracking report, entitled “The 50 States of Solar Decommissioning: Snapshot in 2025.” The report provides an overview of state policies for solar decommissioning by 2025, and covers legislative updates on decommissioning planning, financial security and recycling for solar and co-located battery storage systems.
“As the decommissioning of solar projects has become a major focus for state lawmakers, local officials, project developers and communities, the rapid buildout of battery storage systems, both on-site and stand-alone, has also brought increasing attention to the decommissioning of storage technologies,” said Justin Lindemann, senior policy analyst at NCCETC and lead author of the report. “The health and safety of battery systems – including recycling and deconstruction – have increased community concerns, as have questions surrounding the decommissioning of solar projects, and lawmakers in several states are working to get ahead of potential future challenges.”
Credit: NC Clean Energy Technology Center
The 2025 snapshot shows that 23 states have a statewide solar decommissioning policy, 10 states have a statewide/local hybrid policy, one state has an optional statewide policy, and one state provides an official model template for local governments to adopt. More than half of all states had passed legislation related to solar and storage decommissioning and recycling by 2025, more than double the number of states compared to 2024, with the Northeast and Southeast seeing the most activity, alongside developments in the West, as states consider making decommissioning a serious and short-term element of a project’s life cycle.
The report identifies several trends in decommissioning policy. More states are adopting policies to address the decommissioning of battery storage systems – including standalone, co-located and front-of-the-meter projects. States are increasingly requiring project owners and developers to provide financial security for battery storage facilities. Recycling has become a central feature of solar decommissioning policies, with some states expanding requirements to storage systems and mandating recycling where possible. In addition, some states allow landowners to influence the decommissioning process through changes to project-related plans and agreements.
In the Southwest, Texas has passed laws mandating the recycling/disposal of solar energy components and establishing decommissioning and financial assurance rules for battery storage, including co-located systems. Oklahoma passed the Commercial Solar Facility Decommissioning Act, which requires decommissioning, technical standards and financial assurance for large solar projects, adding more detail to the existing statute. Nevada now requires distributed generation owners to submit solar end-of-life plans with a minimum 90% recycling rate, and projects over 70 MW must include full decommissioning and land restoration details.
In the eastern regions, Arkansas requires agricultural solar developers to sign remediation agreements with landowners, which include deconstruction standards and financial assurance. Maryland has established a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for community solar projects from 2 to 5 MW, with standardized rules for deployment and decommissioning by 2026 and sureties updated every five years.
News release from the NC Clean Energy Technology Center
