On Tuesday, the state Senate held the third consideration of and voted to advance legislation that would establish decommissioning and financial requirements for solar generation projects.
Senate Bill 284 would amend Title 27 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to provide definitions, decommission requirements, and financial assurance requirements. The bill establishes a graduated, phase-in process for financial assurances. Third-party professional engineers would set up five-year benchmarks to assess and calculate the fair market value of the project and the cost to decommission it.
“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,” State Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Bradford), one of the bill’s sponsors, 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. 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.”
The bill moves to the House of Representatives for consideration. If the bill becomes law, it will go into effect in 180 days.