Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1304 By Senator Bradley 6-01411B-25 20251304__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to solar facilities; amending s. 3 163.3205, F.S.; revising legislative intent; defining 4 the terms agricultural land and decommissioned; 5 authorizing a county to adopt an ordinance requiring 6 that certain solar facilities be properly 7 decommissioned under certain circumstances; 8 authorizing a county to presume that a solar facility 9 has reached the end of its useful life under certain 10 circumstances; authorizing a solar facility owner to 11 rebut the presumption in a certain manner; authorizing 12 a county to require certain financial assurance and 13 certain updates from a solar facility owner; 14 authorizing a county to take action to complete the 15 decommissioning of a solar facility under certain 16 circumstances; deleting a provision providing that a 17 solar facility is a permitted use in certain land use 18 categories and zoning districts subject to compliance 19 certain requirements; deleting a provision authorizing 20 a county to adopt an ordinance specifying certain 21 requirements for solar facilities; revising 22 applicability; amending s. 163.3208, F.S.; deleting a 23 provision exempting solar facility substations from 24 the electric substations for which local governments 25 may adopt and enforce certain land development 26 regulations; providing an effective date. 27 28 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 29 30 Section 1.Section 163.3205, Florida Statutes, is amended 31 to read: 32 163.3205Solar facility approval process and 33 decommissioning requirements. 34 (1)It is the intent of the Legislature that agricultural 35 land used for a solar facility be returned to its original state 36 and be viable for agricultural use at the end of the life of the 37 solar facility to encourage renewable solar electrical 38 generation throughout this state. It is essential that solar 39 facilities and associated electric infrastructure be constructed 40 and maintained in various locations throughout this state in 41 order to ensure the availability of renewable energy production, 42 which is critical to this states energy and economic future. 43 (2)As used in this section, the term: 44 (a)Agricultural land means land within: 45 1.An area categorized as agricultural land in a local 46 government comprehensive plan. Such categorization includes any 47 agricultural land use category; or 48 2.An agricultural zoning district within an unincorporated 49 area. 50 (b)Decommissioned means the removal of a solar facility 51 and return of agricultural land that was used for such solar 52 facility to an agriculturally useful condition similar to that 53 which existed before construction of the solar facility, 54 including the removal of above-surface facilities and 55 infrastructure that do not serve a continuing purpose. 56 (c)Solar facility means a production facility for 57 electric power which: 58 1.(a)Uses photovoltaic modules to convert solar energy to 59 electricity that may be stored on site, delivered to a 60 transmission system, and consumed primarily offsite. 61 2.(b)Consists principally of photovoltaic modules, a 62 mounting or racking system, power inverters, transformers, 63 collection systems, battery systems, fire suppression equipment, 64 and associated components. 65 3.(c)May include accessory administration or maintenance 66 buildings, electric transmission lines, substations, energy 67 storage equipment, and related accessory uses and structures. 68 (3)For a solar facility over 2 megawatts which is 69 constructed on agricultural land, a county may adopt an 70 ordinance requiring that the solar facility be properly 71 decommissioned upon the facility reaching the end of its useful 72 life. 73 (a)A county may presume that a solar facility has reached 74 the end of its useful life if: 75 1.The solar facility fails to produce power for a period 76 of 12 months after construction of the solar facility has been 77 completed. This 12-month period does not include a period in 78 which the solar facility does not produce power due to a 79 disaster or other event beyond the control of the facility 80 owner; or 81 2.The solar facility has been abandoned. A solar facility 82 is considered abandoned if: 83 a.After commencement of the solar facilitys construction 84 but before completion, no significant construction of the 85 facility occurs for a period of 24 months; or 86 b.After becoming nonoperational due to a disaster or other 87 event beyond the control of the facility owner, no significant 88 reconstruction of the solar facility occurs for a period of 12 89 months. 90 (b)The presumptions provided under paragraph (a) may be 91 rebutted by the solar facility owner providing the county with a 92 plan, schedule, and adequate assurances for the continuing 93 construction or operation of the solar facility. 94 (c)Counties may require financial assurance from a solar 95 facility owner in the form of a bond, an irrevocable letter of 96 credit established pursuant to chapter 675, a guarantee by the 97 solar facility owners parent company, or another financial 98 device deemed adequate by the county to cover the estimated cost 99 of decommissioning the solar facility. The solar facility owner 100 must provide the information necessary for the county to 101 establish the estimated cost of such decommissioning. 102 (d)Counties may require a solar facility owner to provide 103 updates no less than every 5 years on the estimated cost of 104 decommissioning and financial assurance provided under paragraph 105 (c). Any financial assurance provided under paragraph (c) may be 106 adjusted in accordance with the updates to such estimated cost. 107 (e)If a facility owner does not complete decommissioning 108 as required by county ordinance, the county may take action to 109 complete the decommissioning, including action to require 110 forfeiture of the financial assurance provided under paragraph 111 (c). A county shall allow a solar facility owner at least 12 112 months to commence decommissioning and 24 months to complete 113 decommissioning before taking such action A solar facility shall 114 be a permitted use in all agricultural land use categories in a 115 local government comprehensive plan and all agricultural zoning 116 districts within an unincorporated area and must comply with the 117 setback and landscaped buffer area criteria for other similar 118 uses in the agricultural district. 119 (4)A county may adopt an ordinance specifying buffer and 120 landscaping requirements for solar facilities. Such requirements 121 may not exceed the requirements for similar uses involving the 122 construction of other facilities that are permitted uses in 123 agricultural land use categories and zoning districts. 124 (4)(5)This section does not apply to any site that was the 125 subject of an application to construct a solar facility 126 submitted to a local governmental entity before July 1, 2025 127 2021. 128 Section 2.Subsection (3) of section 163.3208, Florida 129 Statutes, is amended to read: 130 163.3208Substation approval process. 131 (3)Electric substations are a critical component of 132 electric transmission and distribution. Except for substations 133 in s. 163.3205(2)(c), Local governments may adopt and enforce 134 reasonable land development regulations for new and existing 135 electric substations, addressing only setback, landscaping, 136 buffering, screening, lighting, and other aesthetic 137 compatibility-based standards. Vegetated buffers or screening 138 beneath aerial access points to the substation equipment may 139 shall not be required to have a mature height in excess of 14 140 feet. 141 Section 3.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.