With solar burgeoning, U.S. states are taking an increasingly active role in setting solar decommissioning policy.<\/p>\n
In 2025 the U.S. solar industry installed 43 GW of new capacity, according to a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie. Additionally, the report expects the U.S. to add 490 GW of new solar capacity by 2036, bringing cumulative installed capacity to nearly 770 GW. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimated that the amount of potential solar panel waste could total to around 3,000 football fields by 2030.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania recently joined dozens of other states in passing solar decommissioning legislation. Senate Bill 349 requires decommissioning plans for ground-mounted solar projects 2 MW and larger and stipulates that solar developers decommission inactive solar projects within 18 months of ceasing operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a bipartisan win for energy affordability, economic strength, and supporting landowners in Pennsylvania,\u201d Tim Pawlenty, president and CEO of SEIA, said in a statement. \u201cSenate Bill 349 provides clear expectations for developers and landowners while ensuring developers are responsible for meeting state requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n
SB 349 requires that project owners provide a decommissioning plan with financial assurance within 30 days of the start of construction and the plan must be updated every five years of operations. Furthermore, SB 349 increases financial assurance from 10% at five years to 100% (minus salvage value) at 25 years and this is payable to the property owner if decommissioning is not completed.<\/p>\n
Financial assurance stipulates who is contractually obligated to return the land back to its previous state after the solar plant is no longer operational. The Pennsylvania bill is different from decommissioning legislation in other states in that decommissioning is the responsibility of the developer with the landowner being the beneficiary.<\/p>\n