CS/CS/HB 1411 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to floating solar facilities; creating 2
s. 163.32051, F.S.; providing legislative findings 3
regarding floating solar facilities; defining the term 4
"floating solar facility"; requiring a floating solar 5
facility to be a permitted use in certain land use 6
categories; requiring local governments to promote 7
expanded uses of floating solar facilities by taking 8
specified actions; authorizing a county or 9
municipality to specify buffer and landscaping 10
requirements; providing exceptions to the construction 11
of floating solar facilities; requiring the Office of 12
Energy within the Department of Agriculture and 13
Consumer Services to submit specified recommendations 14
to the Legislature regarding floating solar facilities 15
for certain entities; providing an effective date. 16
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18
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Section 1. Section 163.32051, Florida Statutes, is created 20
to read: 21
163.32051 Floating solar facilities. — 22
(1)(a) The Legislature finds that floating solar 23
facilities, also known as "floatovoltaics," can be effective 24
tools in harnessing energy in bodies of water that have been 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
permitted for storage. 26
(b) The Legislature finds that sit ing floating solar 27
facilities on wastewater treatment ponds, abandoned limerock 28
mine areas, stormwater treatment ponds, reclaimed water ponds, 29
and other water storage reservoirs are beneficial uses of those 30
areas for many reasons, including the fact that t he water has a 31
cooling effect on the solar panels, which can boost power 32
production, and the panels help decrease the amount of water 33
lost to evaporation and the formation of harmful algal blooms. 34
(c) Therefore, the Legislature finds that the siting of 35
floating solar facilities should be encouraged by local 36
governments as appropriate uses of water and land areas. 37
(2) For purposes of this section, the term "floating solar 38
facility" means a solar facility as defined in s. 163.3205(2), 39
which is located on wastewater treatment ponds, abandoned 40
limerock mine areas, stormwater treatment ponds, reclaimed water 41
ponds, or other water storage reservoirs. 42
(3) A floating solar facility shall be a permitted use in 43
the appropriate land use categories in each local g overnment 44
comprehensive plan and each local government must amend its land 45
development regulations to promote the expanded use of floating 46
solar facilities. 47
(4) A county or municipality may adopt an ordinance 48
specifying buffer and landscaping requirement s for floating 49
solar facilities. The requirements may not exceed the 50
CS/CS/HB 1411 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
requirements for similar uses involving the construction of 51
other solar facilities that are permitted uses in agricultural 52
land use categories and zoning districts. 53
(5) Notwithstanding subsections (3) and (4), a floating 54
solar facility may not be constructed in an Everglades 55
Agricultural Area reservoir project if the local governments 56
involved with the project determine that the floating solar 57
facility will have a negative impact on that project. 58
(6) The Office of Energy within the Department of 59
Agriculture and Consumer Services shall develop and submit 60
recommendations to the Legislature by December 31, 2022, to 61
provide a regulatory framework to private and public sector 62
entities that implement floating solar facilities. 63
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 64