Senate Passes Heavily Amended Senate Bill 284 To Set Decommissioning Rules For Utility-Scale Solar Energy Facilities

On April 12, the Senate passed Senate Bill 284 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) by a bipartisan vote of 35 to 14 after adopting a gut-and-replace amendment that totally refocused the bill on setting decommissioning rules for utility-scale solar energy facilities.

The new provisions in the bill incorporated best industry practices advocated for by the Solar Energy Industries Association and includes provisions that would--

-- Preempt local ordinances and regulations on decommissioning; and

-- Require compliance with the federal Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

The amended bill was opposed by some environmental groups.

“As Pennsylvania’s energy industry expands to include renewable resources, we must consider the most responsible way to ensure these new facilities are safely and appropriately retired,” Sen. Yaw said. “This bill safeguards both the landowner and our environment from the potential harm caused by a lack of decommissioning standards.”

“This bill provides uniformity and certainty statewide for solar generation facilities and landowners, which are often multi-generational,” Sen. Yaw said. “It’s important that Pennsylvania offers a regulatory framework that attracts the diversification of our energy resources, while still supporting landowners through the complicated and daunting task of safely decommissioning these facilities.” 

Solar Industries Support

The Solar Energy Industries Association said in a letter of support-- “This amendment promotes smart decommissioning policy and flexibility in posting financial assurance and will encourage responsible development of solar projects. 

“It includes the following provisions supported by SEIA:

-- The [developer/owner] of the solar project shall file a decommissioning plan with the county recorder of deeds.

-- The decommissioning plan shall describe the steps that will be taken to remove the project equipment from the landowner’s property and, unless the property owner and grantee mutually agree in writing on an alternative condition for restoring the property, the decommissioning plan shall provide for all the following:

-- The removal of all non-utility owned equipment, conduits, structures, fencing, and foundations to a depth of at least three feet below grade. The developer/project owner will NOT need to remove equipment that the public utility requires to remain on site.

-- The removal of all graveled areas and access roads unless the surface property owner requests in writing for graveled areas and access roads to stay in place.

-- The restoration of the property to a condition reasonably similar to its condition before the commencement of construction, including the replacement of topsoil removed or eroded on previously productive agricultural land.

-- Re-seeding any cleared areas, unless requested in writing by the surface property owner to not reseed due to plans for agricultural planting.

-- A phased-in approach to financial assurance for the decommissioning plan which must be equal to the cost of decommissioning the project, minus the facility’s salvage value, but includes a floor for solar facilities at each phase.

-- These costs should be determined by a third-party professional engineer retained by the developer of the project from a list compiled by the department.

-- The cost calculation should be reassessed every 5-years by a professional engineer to ensure it remains accurate over the lifetime of the project.

-- Financial assurance may be in the form of a bond, escrow account, or irrevocable letter of credit from a financial institution.”

Click Here for the Association’s letter of support.

Troublesome Provisions Removed

The amendment also removed many other provisions of the bill that would have set back renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives across the entire state by making them more expensive for no reason.

Taken out were general requirements imposing gratuitous new bonding requirements on solar electric generation, biomass, coal waste and other renewable energy projects of any type included in the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards, plus other products and services.

Removed were new bonding requirements for--

-- Alternative Fuels, Energy Efficiency, Energy Conservation Product Makers: “A facility that manufactures or produces products, including component parts, that provide alternative energy or alternative fuels, improve energy efficiency or conserve energy.”

-- Alternative Energy R&D Facilities: “A facility used for the research and development of technology to provide alternative energy sources or alternative fuels”

-- Transportation Systems For Alternative Fuels & High-Efficiency Locomotives: “A project for the development or enhancement of rail transportation systems that deliver alternative fuels or high-efficiency locomotives.”

The bill now goes to the House for consideration.

Legislation similar to the amended Senate Bill 284-- House Bill 2104 (Rapp-R-Warren) is pending in the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.

(Photo: Solar energy facility on a Lancaster County farm by Community Energy.)

Related Articles:

-- Senate Committees Hear Bill Requiring State Bonding For Solar, Wind Projects Duplicates Local Ordinances, Landowner Leases; Adds New Bureaucracy; And Has A Broader Scope Than Advertised

-- House Committee Holds Dec. 15 Hearing On Bonding & Decommissioning Solar, Wind Energy Facilities

Related Article This Week:

-- Sen. Yaw To Introduce Bill Promoting Carbon Capture, Utilization And Sequestration

[Posted: April 14, 2022]  PA Environment Digest