Decommissioning policy & regulatory tracker

This tracker covers 15 primary markets across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific, with separate rows for wind, solar, and battery where material end-of-life regulatory requirements exist. Coverage is based on publicly available legislation, regulatory guidance, and industry association publications, last verified March 2026.

• Bond requirement status reflects the primary regulatory regime. Individual projects may be subject to additional contractual or lender requirements beyond what is captured here.
• Wind-specific columns — blade landfill ban and foundation excavation scope — apply only to wind assets. Entries marked "—" for solar and battery rows indicate no applicable requirement in that dimension.
• Blade landfill ban status: "None" indicates no statutory or voluntary prohibition identified. "Voluntary" indicates an industry pledge (e.g. WindEurope or national association commitment) without statutory force. "Mandated" indicates a statutory or regulatory prohibition. As of January 2026, the WindEurope self-imposed blade landfill ban is in force — this applies to WindEurope member companies only and does not have statutory force across EU member states; it does not replace or substitute for national statutory prohibitions. Germany, Netherlands, Austria, and Finland have separate statutory bans that operate independently of the WindEurope pledge.
• Germany's blade landfill ban operates via Deponieverordnung (DepV) organic carbon content thresholds rather than an explicit blade-specific rule. GFRP blade composites are captured because their polymer resin matrix classifies them as high-organic-content waste, which cannot be landfilled.
• Foundation excavation scope captures the minimum removal depth or completeness required under primary legislation or standard permit conditions. Actual site obligations depend on specific environmental conditions, habitat designations, and landowner agreements.
• Where a regulatory position is based on standard permit practice rather than explicit statutory text — for example, US state lease conditions or planning permit standards — this is noted in the Calculation Basis or Foundation Scope columns. Entries should be verified against current primary sources before operational reliance.
• US state entries cover the primary state-level regulatory framework. County-level requirements — which frequently exceed state minimums — are noted in the calculation basis column where material.
• Solar and battery decommissioning regulation is materially less developed than wind across most markets. Where no requirement is identified, this reflects the current regulatory position and not a forward expectation. The regulatory calendar section captures expected developments.
• Coverage gaps — markets not yet included: Major wind and solar markets including China, India, Brazil, Turkey, Norway, and Portugal are not currently represented. These are planned additions. China accounts for the largest installed wind capacity globally and has evolving decommissioning provisions under the Renewable Energy Law; India has state-level repowering/decommissioning regulations under development. Norway has significant offshore decommissioning obligations under petroleum and offshore energy legislation applicable to OSW.
• Offshore-specific regimes not yet included: This tracker primarily captures onshore regulatory frameworks. Dedicated offshore decommissioning regimes — including UK Energy Act 1989 Section 29 offshore decommissioning security for oil and gas infrastructure (applicable by analogy to OSW), US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) financial assurance requirements for outer continental shelf wind leases, and Norway's offshore decommissioning liability framework — are material and planned for a future expansion of this tracker.