Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3422 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R5030 SCR-D
2	2	By: Gerdes H.B. No. 3422
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the removal of battery energy storage facilities.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Title 6, Utilities Code, is amended by adding
12	12	Chapter 303 to read as follows:
13	13	CHAPTER 303. BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE FACILITY AGREEMENTS
14	14	Sec. 303.0001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
15	15	(1) "Battery energy storage facility" includes a
16	16	facility or equipment used to support the operation of battery
17	17	energy storage, including an underground or aboveground electrical
18	18	transmission or communications line, an electric transformer,
19	19	telecommunications equipment, a road, a meteorological tower, or a
20	20	maintenance yard.
21	21	(2) "Battery energy storage facility agreement" means
22	22	a lease agreement between a grantee and a landowner that authorizes
23	23	the grantee to operate a battery energy storage facility on the
24	24	leased property.
25	25	(3) "Grantee" means a person who:
26	26	(A) leases property from a landowner; and
27	27	(B) operates a battery energy storage facility on
28	28	the property.
29	29	Sec. 303.0002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
30	30	battery energy storage that is a generation asset as defined by
31	31	Section 39.251.
32	32	Sec. 303.0003. WAIVER VOID; REMEDIES. (a) A provision of a
33	33	battery energy storage facility agreement that purports to waive a
34	34	right or exempt a grantee from a liability or duty established by
35	35	this chapter is void.
36	36	(b) A person who is harmed by a violation of this chapter is
37	37	entitled to appropriate injunctive relief to prevent further
38	38	violation of this chapter.
39	39	(c) The provisions of this section are not exclusive. The
40	40	remedies provided in this section are in addition to any other
41	41	procedures or remedies provided by other law.
42	42	Sec. 303.0004. REQUIRED AGREEMENT PROVISIONS ON FACILITY
43	43	REMOVAL. (a) A battery energy storage facility agreement must
44	44	provide that the grantee is responsible for removing the grantee's
45	45	battery energy storage facilities from the landowner's property and
46	46	that the grantee shall, in accordance with any other applicable
47	47	laws or regulations, safely:
48	48	(1) clear, clean, and remove from the property each
49	49	piece of battery energy storage equipment, including any
50	50	transformers or substations;
51	51	(2) for each foundation of battery energy storage
52	52	equipment, including a transformer or substation installed in the
53	53	ground:
54	54	(A) clear, clean, and remove the foundation from
55	55	the ground to a depth of at least three feet below the surface grade
56	56	of the land in which the foundation is installed; and
57	57	(B) ensure that each hole or cavity created in
58	58	the ground by the removal is filled with topsoil of the same type or
59	59	a similar type as the predominant topsoil found on the property;
60	60	(3) for each buried cable, including power,
61	61	fiber-optic, and communications cables, installed in the ground:
62	62	(A) clear, clean, and remove the cable from the
63	63	ground to a depth of at least three feet below the surface grade of
64	64	the land in which the cable is installed; and
65	65	(B) ensure that each hole or cavity created in
66	66	the ground by the removal is filled with topsoil of the same type or
67	67	a similar type as the predominant topsoil found on the property; and
68	68	(4) clear, clean, and remove from the property each
69	69	overhead power or communications line installed by the grantee on
70	70	the property.
71	71	(b) The agreement must provide that, at the request of the
72	72	landowner, the grantee shall:
73	73	(1) clear, clean, and remove each road constructed by
74	74	the grantee on the property; and
75	75	(2) ensure that each hole or cavity created in the
76	76	ground by the removal is filled with topsoil of the same type or a
77	77	similar type as the predominant topsoil found on the property.
78	78	(c) The agreement must provide that, at the request of the
79	79	landowner, if reasonable, the grantee shall:
80	80	(1) remove from the property all rocks over 12 inches
81	81	in diameter excavated during the decommissioning or removal
82	82	process;
83	83	(2) return the property to a tillable state using
84	84	scarification, V-rip, or disc methods, as appropriate; and
85	85	(3) ensure that:
86	86	(A) each hole or cavity created in the ground by
87	87	the removal is filled with topsoil of the same type or a similar
88	88	type as the predominant topsoil found on the property; and
89	89	(B) the surface is returned as near as reasonably
90	90	possible to the same condition as before the grantee dug holes or
91	91	cavities, including by reseeding pastureland with native grasses
92	92	prescribed by an appropriate governmental agency, if any.
93	93	(d) The landowner shall make a request under Subsection (b)
94	94	or (c) not later than the 180th day after the later of:
95	95	(1) the date on which the battery energy storage
96	96	facility is no longer capable of storing electricity in commercial
97	97	quantities; or
98	98	(2) the date the landowner receives written notice of
99	99	intent to decommission the battery energy storage facility from the
100	100	grantee.
101	101	Sec. 303.0005. REQUIRED AGREEMENT PROVISIONS ON FINANCIAL
102	102	ASSURANCE. (a) A battery energy storage facility agreement must
103	103	provide that the grantee shall obtain and deliver to the landowner
104	104	evidence of financial assurance that conforms to the requirements
105	105	of this section to secure the performance of the grantee's
106	106	obligation to remove the grantee's battery energy storage
107	107	facilities located on the landowner's property as described by
108	108	Section 303.0004. Acceptable forms of financial assurance include a
109	109	parent company guaranty with a minimum investment grade credit
110	110	rating for the parent company issued by a major domestic credit
111	111	rating agency, a letter of credit, a bond, or another form of
112	112	financial assurance acceptable to the landowner.
113	113	(b) The amount of the financial assurance must be at least
114	114	equal to the estimated amount by which the cost of removing the
115	115	battery energy storage facilities from the landowner's property and
116	116	restoring the property to as near as reasonably possible the
117	117	condition of the property as of the date the agreement begins
118	118	exceeds the salvage value of the battery energy storage facilities,
119	119	less any portion of the value of the battery energy storage
120	120	facilities pledged to secure outstanding debt.
121	121	(c) The agreement must provide that:
122	122	(1) the estimated cost of removing the battery energy
123	123	storage facilities from the landowner's property and restoring the
124	124	property to as near as reasonably possible the condition of the
125	125	property as of the date the agreement begins and the estimated
126	126	salvage value of the battery energy storage facilities must be
127	127	determined by an independent, third-party professional engineer
128	128	licensed in this state;
129	129	(2) the grantee must deliver to the landowner an
130	130	updated estimate, prepared by an independent, third-party
131	131	professional engineer licensed in this state, of the cost of
132	132	removal and the salvage value at least once every five years for the
133	133	remainder of the term of the agreement; and
134	134	(3) the grantee is responsible for ensuring that the
135	135	amount of the financial assurance remains sufficient to cover the
136	136	amount required by Subsection (b), consistent with the estimates
137	137	required by this subsection.
138	138	(d) The grantee is responsible for the costs of obtaining
139	139	financial assurance described by this section and costs of
140	140	determining the estimated removal costs and salvage value.
141	141	(e) The agreement must provide that the grantee shall
142	142	deliver the financial assurance not later than the earlier of:
143	143	(1) the date the battery energy storage facility
144	144	agreement is terminated; or
145	145	(2) the 10th anniversary of the commercial operations
146	146	date of the battery energy storage facilities located on the
147	147	landowner's leased property.
148	148	(f) For purposes of this section, "commercial operations
149	149	date" means the date on which the battery energy storage facilities
150	150	are approved for participation in market operations by a regional
151	151	transmission organization and does not include the generation of
152	152	electrical energy or other operations conducted before that date
153	153	for purposes of maintenance and testing.
154	154	(g) The grantee may not cancel financial assurance before
155	155	the date the grantee has completed the grantee's obligation to
156	156	remove the grantee's battery energy storage facilities located on
157	157	the landowner's property in the manner provided by this chapter,
158	158	unless the grantee provides the landowner with replacement
159	159	financial assurance at the time of or before the cancellation. In
160	160	the event of a transfer of ownership of the grantee's battery energy
161	161	storage facilities, the financial security provided by the grantee
162	162	shall remain in place until the date evidence of financial security
163	163	meeting the requirements of this chapter is provided to the
164	164	landowner.
165	165	SECTION 2. Chapter 303, Utilities Code, as added by this
166	166	Act, applies only to a battery energy storage facility agreement
167	167	entered into on or after the effective date of this Act. A battery
168	168	energy storage facility agreement entered into before the effective
169	169	date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately
170	170	before that date, and that law is continued in effect for that
171	171	purpose.
172	172	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.