By Emilie Oxel O’Leary, CEO and Founder, Green Clean Solar
The Solar Industry Is Entering a New Phase
For years, the solar industry has been focused on one primary objective: building more renewable energy. We have watched solar farms expand across the country, commercial rooftops become power-generating assets, and technology continue to improve how we capture and deliver electricity.
But there is another conversation that deserves just as much attention.
What happens to these systems when they are no longer producing energy efficiently, when the technology becomes outdated, or when an owner decides it is time for something new?
We are beginning to see a shift in the industry. Many of the solar installations built during the early growth years are approaching important operational milestones. Some are nearing the end of their original power purchase agreements. Others are experiencing declining production, aging inverters, equipment failures, or simply facing the decision of whether to continue operating an older system or invest in newer technology.
This is where legacy solar systems enter the conversation.
A legacy solar system is an existing installation that has been operating for approximately 10 years or longer. These systems may still be producing electricity, but owners are increasingly evaluating whether maintaining the existing infrastructure makes financial sense or whether upgrading the system could deliver better long-term performance.
And that brings us to two important options: repowering and decommissioning.
Repowering Versus Decommissioning: The Decision That Owners Must Make
One of the biggest misconceptions about an aging solar installation is that it automatically needs to be removed.
That is not necessarily the case.
Before an owner makes the decision to completely decommission a site, there should be a thorough evaluation of the existing system. In many cases, repowering may offer a better solution.
Repowering involves upgrading an existing solar installation by replacing older, less efficient equipment with newer technology. Depending on the site, this may include:
My Boots-on-the-Ground Perspective: Decommissioning Is More Than Removing Panels
When I founded Green Clean Solar, I knew there was a growing need for responsible solar waste management. What I did not fully appreciate at the time was just how complicated decommissioning could become once you were standing in the middle of an actual project.
I have been on solar farms, commercial rooftops, and large-scale projects where the amount of material being removed is staggering.
I have seen what happens when older systems are dismantled, when panels are broken during removal, and when materials that could potentially be recovered are mixed together and treated as construction debris.
One of the biggest lessons I have learned is that decommissioning is not simply a matter of taking panels off a rack.
It is a coordinated operation involving labor, equipment, transportation, material handling, sorting, packaging, and identifying the appropriate downstream outlets for each material.
And the panels are only part of the story.
A typical decommissioning project can generate substantial quantities of:
● Solar modules, including crystalline, bifacial, and thin-film panels.
● Aluminum framing and mounting structures.
● Steel racking, foundations, and hardware.
● Copper wiring, cables, and electrical components.
● Inverters, transformers, and combiner boxes.
● Wood pallets, cardboard, plastics, and packaging materials.
● Battery storage equipment and associated electrical infrastructure, where applicable.
At Green Clean Solar, our role is to help coordinate the boots-on-the-ground logistics of managing these materials. We work with project owners, EPCs, contractors, transportation providers, and recycling partners to develop practical solutions for collection, palletizing, loading, transportation, reuse, and recycling.
We are not a recycling facility. We are the field operations and waste-management partner that helps connect the project site to the appropriate downstream resources.
That distinction matters, especially when a project involves thousands of panels and multiple material streams.
After spending years working to promote responsible solar recycling, seeing this firsthand was a reminder that we still have a considerable amount of work to do.
My mission with Green Clean Solar is to help divert these materials from landfills whenever practical and identify responsible reuse and recycling solutions. I believe we need to make the right choice easier for the people managing these projects.
We cannot continue building a renewable energy industry without giving equal consideration to what happens at the end of its lifecycle.
Solar's Second Life is my second book (my first book is MegaWatts to Mega Recycling) where I am bringing that conversation to the forefront. It is not about criticizing the solar industry or slowing down renewable energy development. Quite the opposite. It is about strengthening the industry by making sure we have responsible solutions for the equipment we are putting into the field today.
Because every solar installation has a lifecycle, and every lifecycle deserves a second look.
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