The Hidden Risk Facing Large Solar Portfolios: Decommissioning at Scale
It’s time to have the scale conversation. After helping one of our clients, a notable American retailer, with more than six hundred solar sites, we’re confident that large portfolios need to hear this.
Everything we do at Decom Solar becomes exponentially important.
For solar asset owners, scale is usually seen as a strength. More sites mean more leverage with vendors. More sites mean more predictable cash flow. More sites mean you’re a “serious player” in the energy transition, especially with solar.
But, there’s a quiet reality emerging across the industry:
Once you own 50 solar sites or more, your risk exposure around decommissioning increases exponentially.
And most asset owners aren’t prepared for it.
Scale Changes the Game (Especially at End of Life)
Decommissioning a single solar site is complex enough. Decommissioning dozens, or hundreds, introduces an entirely different level of operational, financial, and reputational risk.
At scale, small inefficiencies compound into major problems:
- Inconsistent decommissioning plans across sites
- Unknown recycling and reuse pathways for panels and balance-of-system components
- Escalating costs when timelines compress
- Avoidable environmental consequences due to a lack of time
- Regulatory exposure when documentation or disposal practices fall short
For large portfolios, decommissioning is no longer a “future problem.” It’s a strategic risk that should already be on the balance sheet.
The Illusion of “We’ll Figure It Out Later”
Many asset owners assume decommissioning will look like construction in reverse.
It won’t.
Unlike installation, end-of-life solar faces fragmented infrastructure, inconsistent regulations, and limited ethical disposal options, especially at scale. When hundreds of sites begin aging out within the same window, owners without a clear strategy face only bad choices:
- Stockpiling panels indefinitely
- Shipping materials overseas with no visibility into outcomes
- Sending panels to landfills under the guise of “temporary disposal”
- Paying emergency premiums when options run out
Each of these paths carries risk: financial, environmental, and reputational.
The Landfill Problem No One Wants to Own
Let’s be direct: most solar decommissioning today ends with panels in landfills.
Not because owners want that outcome, but because they don’t have an alternative.
As volumes increase, the industry’s lack of ethical, scalable solutions becomes more visible. And for large asset owners, visibility cuts both ways. Regulators, investors, and the public are paying attention.
If your portfolio spans 50+ sites, the question is no longer if decommissioning will become a scrutiny point; it’s when.
Why Large Portfolios Are More Exposed
Ironically, the same scale that creates leverage also creates vulnerability:
- Timing risk: Sites installed in similar eras will retire together
- Volume risk: Recycling and reuse capacity is limited and competitive
- Reputation risk: One bad outcome reflects on the entire portfolio
- Cost risk: Reactive decommissioning is always more expensive
Without proactive planning, asset owners are forced into decisions that contradict the very sustainability values solar was built on.
Decom Solar: The Only Ethical Path Forward
Decom Solar exists for one reason: to ensure solar decommissioning does not become the industry’s environmental failure story.
We are the only dedicated resource focused on ethical solar decommissioning at scale. We’re providing pathways that prioritize reuse, responsible recycling, and full transparency over where materials actually end up.
No landfills.
No offloading responsibility.
No pretending the problem doesn’t exist.
For large asset owners, this isn’t just about doing the right thing; it’s about protecting enterprise value, regulatory standing, and long-term credibility.
The Advantage of Preparing Early
Asset owners who address decommissioning now gain real advantages:
- Predictable costs instead of emergency pricing
- Clear documentation and compliance confidence
- Scalable systems that work across hundreds of sites
- Alignment with ESG commitments that can actually be defended
Most importantly, they avoid being forced into unethical outcomes simply because options ran out.
The Question Every Large Asset Owner Should Ask
If 20% of your portfolio needed to be decommissioned tomorrow:
Do you know exactly where those panels would go?
If the answer isn’t crystal clear, the risk is already present.
Decommissioning isn’t the end of the solar story; it’s the moment when the industry proves whether it meant what it said about sustainability.
Decom Solar is here to make sure the story ends the right way.
