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Power producers and portfolio owners face the facts of life with PV repowering - As early U.S. solar projects reach mid-life, repowering is becoming a core part of the industry’s next phase. Declining performance, obsolete equipment, and rising risk are pushing owners to rethink how existing assets are maintained and upgraded so they can keep contributing meaningful power as demand grows.
If there is a solar word of the year for 2025, it might be “repowering.”
A recent article from pv magazine USA highlights a reality the industry can no longer ignore: many early utility-scale and commercial PV projects in the U.S. are reaching mid-life, and the focus is shifting to what comes next.
According to Andy Sofranko, Vice President of Engineering at REC Solar, repowering is not a trend or a marketing idea. It is a normal stage in the life cycle of power assets, much like turbine replacements or reactor refueling in other forms of generation.
What may surprise some owners is how quickly this moment has arrived.
Early utility-scale solar was often described as “solid state,” with few moving parts and minimal maintenance needs. In reality, PV plants operate outdoors and are exposed to heat, weather, wildlife, and aging electronics. Over time, routine maintenance alone is often no longer enough to meet performance and financial expectations.
Sofranko explains that the signal for repowering is not just component failure. It is declining performance and growing risk that assets fall short of contractual or financial targets. At that point, owners need more than spot repairs. They need audits, data reviews, site inspections, and a clear, phased plan to restore performance.
In many cases, repowering starts with fundamentals: restoring communications and data visibility, replacing obsolete inverters from manufacturers that no longer exist, and ensuring systems can be monitored and managed with confidence. Only after that foundation is rebuilt does it make sense to pursue incremental upgrades like tracker improvements or selective module replacement.
What stands out is how much repowering relies on experience. As solar projects age, the industry now has far more real-world insight into how systems perform over time. Repowering often means applying today’s operational knowledge to assets that were designed and built in a very different market.
This shift is something we see firsthand at Do Good Energy. As the U.S. solar fleet matures, more attention is moving from building new projects to taking care of existing ones. At Do Good Energy, we buy legacy solar projects and repower them for today’s energy needs, helping ensure these assets remain productive, reliable, and valuable as demand continues to grow.
With electricity demand continuing to grow and new projects taking longer to develop, existing solar assets are becoming increasingly important. Repowering is not just about fixing old equipment. It is about keeping solar plants productive and contributing meaningfully to the grid.
If solar is going to keep pace with demand, keeping older plants performing well matters just as much as building new ones.
Own a commercial solar project that’s aging or underperforming? Share the details here: https://www.dogood.energy/intake-form