Decommissioning and repowering of utility-scale solar photovoltaic systems: A review of policy, economics, technology, environment and social dimensions

The rapid global expansion of solar photovoltaics (PV), rising to nearly 3 TW in 2025, has outpaced planning for end-of-life (EoL) management. The first wave of large-scale solar farms, commissioned in the early 2010s, is now in its second decade of operation, making EoL decisions increasingly urgent. Existing literature has focused primarily on panel recycling, overlooking balance of system components, civil works, grid infrastructure, and regulatory and contractual obligations. In mature industries such as oil and gas, decommissioning frameworks and financial assurance were developed over decades after environmental harms became visible, and liabilities such as abandoned wells remain unresolved. Solar PV is younger and growing rapidly, and can establish EoL frameworks before most of its fleet reaches EoL. This review provides the first cross-domain synthesis of EoL pathways for utility-scale PV systems, spanning policy, economics, technical practices, environmental impacts, and social dimensions. Drawing on 85 sources and 36 case studies, it examines decommissioning and repowering as the primary EoL strategies. The literature reveals fragmented regulatory frameworks, inconsistent cost estimation methods, and limited empirical evidence. While repowering offers economic benefits, it presents environmental trade-offs, while social impacts are underexplored. The evidence is concentrated in the U.S. and Europe and limited to English language sources, so findings on costs, incentives and permitting may not transfer to other regions. No framework exists to compare EoL options across these factors. These findings highlight the need for structured, site-specific decision frameworks, and for evidence from more regions, to support transparent and consistent EoL planning.