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36 Colo. Nat. Resources Energy & Env't L. Rev. 67 (2025)
End Game: Designing Smarter Wind and Solar Decommissioning Requirements

handle is hein.journals/colenvlp36 and id is 83 raw text is: End Game: Designing Smarter Wind and Solar Decommissioning Requirements Kyra Toering & Natalie Heun* Abstract As growing numbers of wind and solar energy projects in the United States show signs of aging, policy questions surrounding the potential repowering or decommissioning of these projects are drawing increased attention. Developers often site renewable energy projects based on favorable location-specific features such as resource quality or proximity to transmission infrastructure, so discontinuing electricity generation on existing developed sites often works against public policy goals. Repowering aging wind and solar projects rather than reclaiming them can be a cost- effective means ofperpetuating the productive use of their renewable energy resources and other desirable attributes. Unfortunately, the patchwork of state and local laws that governs renewable energy decommissioning and repowering decisions in the United States today is ill-suited to promote optimal continued use of much of the nation's best renewable energy resources and infrastructure. Developing more comprehensive and sensible decommissioning and repoweringpolicies for wind and solar projects is thus an essential part ofthe transition to a low-carbon, sustainable energy system. This Article highlights several deficiencies in renewable energy project decommissioning policies and identifies specific reforms capable of better incentivizing repowering and promoting more optimal long-term use of the country's precious wind and solar resources. * Both authors are Sustainability Law Student Research Fellows within the Program on Law and Sustainability at Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. This Article was researched and written under the supervision and guidance of Professor Troy A. Rule as part of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law's Sustainability Law Research Fellowships initiative. The authors wish to thank other Fellows within the initiative for their invaluable comments and input on the issues covered in this Article.