The NC Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) released the annual update to its solar decommissioning tracking report today, titled “The 50 States of Solar Decommissioning: 2025 Snapshot.” The report reviews the 2025 state solar decommissioning policy landscape, covering legislative updates on decommissioning planning, financial assurance and recycling for solar and co-located battery storage systems.
“As solar project decommissioning has become a significant focus for state legislatures, local officials, project developers and communities, the rapid build-out of battery storage systems, whether co-located or standalone, 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. “Battery system health and safety — including recycling and deconstruction — has risen among community concerns, as have questions surrounding solar project decommissioning, and lawmakers in several states are working to get ahead of potential future challenges.”
Credit: NC Clean Energy Technology Center
The 2025 snapshot finds that 23 states have a statewide policy for solar decommissioning, 10 states have a statewide/local hybrid policy, one state has a statewide optional policy and one state provides an official model template that local governments may adopt. More than half of all states had legislative actions related to solar and storage decommissioning and recycling in 2025, more than double the number of states compared to 2024, with the Northeast and Southeast showing the most activity, alongside developments in the West, as states are considering decommissioning a serious and near-term element of a project’s lifespan.
The report identifies several decommissioning policy trends. More states are adopting policies to address battery storage system decommissioning – including standalone, co-located and front-of-the-meter projects. States are increasingly requiring project owners and developers to provide financial assurance for battery storage facilities. Recycling has become a central feature of solar decommissioning policies, with some states extending requirements to storage systems and mandating recycling where possible. In addition, some states permit landowners to influence the decommissioning process through modifications to project-related plans and agreements.
In the Southwest, Texas passed laws mandating the recycling/disposal of solar components and setting decommissioning and financial assurance rules for battery storage, including co-located systems. Oklahoma enacted the Commercial Solar Facility Decommissioning Act, requiring removal, technical standards and financial assurance for large solar projects, adding more detail to its existing statute. Nevada now requires distributed generation owners to file solar panel end-of-life plans with a minimum 90% recycling rate, and projects over 70 MW must include full decommissioning and land restoration details.
In eastern regions, Arkansas requires solar developers on agricultural land to sign remediation agreements with landowners that include deconstruction standards and financial assurance. Maryland created a certificate of public convenience and necessity for 2- to 5-MW community solar projects, with standardized siting and decommissioning rules by 2026 and surety bonds updated every five years.
News item from the NC Clean Energy Technology Center
