Source:  NCSU COOPERATIVE EXTENSION, 1/30/21


[Farmlaw Editor’s note: the final report discussed below – mandated by state statute – has been circulated in draft form. The broad outline below responds to concerns of landowners and communities about the solid waste future of solar PV materials, as well as the restoration of lands – in some cases valuable farmland soils – to agricultural or forestry use. Please address comments to rabrana@ncsu.edu.]

Introduction: Legislative Mandate for Decommission Study
As solar photovoltaic (PV) facilities have grown in number and size over the past decade in North Carolina and elsewhere, discussion has accelerated on what is to become of the solar PV facilities – and their tons of equipment – at their end-of-life (EOL). The estimated EOL for a solar panel – under current technology – is 25 years, and solar PV facility leases, which average 24 years in a range from 20 to 40 years, try to seek to address the matter of decommissioning as a contractual matter between developer and landowner.

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