Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2657 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R3533 RDR-F
2	2	By: Perry S.B. No. 2657
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the inclusion of recycling or disposal provisions in
10	10	certain lease agreements of wind or solar power facilities.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 301.0001, Utilities Code, is amended by
13	13	adding Subdivision (1-a) and amending Subdivision (2) to read as
14	14	follows:
15	15	(1-a) "Recycle" means the processing of an item to
16	16	recover a usable product.
17	17	(2) "Wind power facility" includes:
18	18	(A) a wind turbine generator and any related
19	19	components of the wind turbine, including a nacelle, a rotor hub,
20	20	blades, and a gearbox assembly; and
21	21	(B) a facility or equipment used to support the
22	22	operation of a wind turbine generator, including an underground or
23	23	aboveground electrical transmission or communications line, an
24	24	electric transformer, a battery storage facility, an energy storage
25	25	facility, telecommunications equipment, a road, a meteorological
26	26	tower with wind measurement equipment, or a maintenance yard.
27	27	SECTION 2. Section 301.0003, Utilities Code, is amended by
28	28	adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
29	29	(a-1) A wind power facility agreement must provide that the
30	30	grantee is responsible for:
31	31	(1) collecting and reusing or recycling, or shipping
32	32	for reuse or recycling, all components of the wind power facility
33	33	practicably capable of being reused or recycled, including the wind
34	34	turbine blades, in accordance with any other applicable laws or
35	35	regulations; and
36	36	(2) disposing of all components of the wind power
37	37	facility not practicably capable of being reused or recycled:
38	38	(A) at a facility authorized under state and
39	39	federal law to dispose of hazardous substances for a component
40	40	considered hazardous under those laws; or
41	41	(B) for nonhazardous components, at a municipal
42	42	solid waste landfill or other appropriate waste disposal facility
43	43	authorized under state and federal law to dispose of that type of
44	44	component.
45	45	SECTION 3. Sections 301.0004(a), (b), (c), and (d),
46	46	Utilities Code, are amended to read as follows:
47	47	(a) A wind power facility agreement must provide that the
48	48	grantee shall obtain and deliver to the landowner evidence of
49	49	financial assurance that conforms to the requirements of this
50	50	section to secure the performance of the grantee's obligations
51	51	under [obligation to remove the grantee's wind power facilities
52	52	located on the landowner's property as described by] Section
53	53	301.0003. Acceptable forms of financial assurance include a parent
54	54	company guaranty with a minimum investment grade credit rating for
55	55	the parent company issued by a major domestic credit rating agency,
56	56	a letter of credit, a bond, or another form of financial assurance
57	57	acceptable to the landowner.
58	58	(b) The amount of the financial assurance must be at least
59	59	equal to the estimated amount by which the cost of removing the wind
60	60	power facilities from the landowner's property, recycling or
61	61	disposing of all the components of the wind power facilities, and
62	62	restoring the property to as near as reasonably possible the
63	63	condition of the property as of the date the agreement begins
64	64	exceeds the salvage value of the wind power facilities, less any
65	65	portion of the value of the wind power facilities pledged to secure
66	66	outstanding debt.
67	67	(c) The agreement must provide that:
68	68	(1) the estimated cost of removing the wind power
69	69	facilities from the landowner's property, recycling or disposing of
70	70	all the components of the wind power facilities, and restoring the
71	71	property to as near as reasonably possible the condition of the
72	72	property as of the date the agreement begins and the estimated
73	73	salvage value of the wind power facilities must be determined by an
74	74	independent, third-party professional engineer licensed in this
75	75	state;
76	76	(2) the grantee must deliver to the landowner an
77	77	updated estimate, prepared by an independent, third-party
78	78	professional engineer licensed in this state, of the cost of
79	79	removal and recycling or disposal of the wind power facilities and
80	80	the salvage value at least once every five years for the remainder
81	81	of the term of the agreement; and
82	82	(3) the grantee is responsible for ensuring that the
83	83	amount of the financial assurance remains sufficient to cover the
84	84	amount required by Subsection (b), consistent with the estimates
85	85	required by this subsection.
86	86	(d) The grantee is responsible for the costs of obtaining
87	87	financial assurance described by this section and costs of
88	88	determining the estimated removal, recycling, and disposal costs
89	89	and salvage value.
90	90	SECTION 4. Section 302.0001, Utilities Code, is amended by
91	91	adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as follows:
92	92	(1-a) "Recycle" means the processing of an item to
93	93	recover a usable product.
94	94	SECTION 5. Section 302.0004, Utilities Code, is amended by
95	95	adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
96	96	(a-1) A solar power facility agreement must provide that the
97	97	grantee is responsible for:
98	98	(1) collecting and reusing or recycling, or shipping
99	99	for reuse or recycling, all components of the solar power facility
100	100	practicably capable of being reused or recycled, including the
101	101	photovoltaic modules, in accordance with any other applicable laws
102	102	or regulations; and
103	103	(2) disposing of all components of the solar power
104	104	facility not practicably capable of being reused or recycled:
105	105	(A) at a facility authorized under state and
106	106	federal law to dispose of hazardous substances for a component
107	107	considered hazardous under those laws; or
108	108	(B) for nonhazardous components, at a municipal
109	109	solid waste landfill or other appropriate waste disposal facility
110	110	authorized under state and federal law to dispose of that type of
111	111	component.
112	112	SECTION 6. Sections 302.0005(a), (b), (c), and (d),
113	113	Utilities Code, are amended to read as follows:
114	114	(a) A solar power facility agreement must provide that the
115	115	grantee shall obtain and deliver to the landowner evidence of
116	116	financial assurance that conforms to the requirements of this
117	117	section to secure the performance of the grantee's obligations
118	118	under [obligation to remove the grantee's solar power facilities
119	119	located on the landowner's property as described by] Section
120	120	302.0004. Acceptable forms of financial assurance include a parent
121	121	company guaranty with a minimum investment grade credit rating for
122	122	the parent company issued by a major domestic credit rating agency,
123	123	a letter of credit, a bond, or another form of financial assurance
124	124	reasonably acceptable to the landowner.
125	125	(b) The amount of the financial assurance must be at least
126	126	equal to the estimated amount by which the cost of removing the
127	127	solar power facilities from the landowner's property, recycling or
128	128	disposing of all the components of the solar power facilities, and
129	129	restoring the property to as near as reasonably possible the
130	130	condition of the property as of the date the agreement begins
131	131	exceeds the salvage value of the solar power facilities, less any
132	132	portion of the value of the solar power facilities pledged to secure
133	133	outstanding debt.
134	134	(c) The agreement must provide that:
135	135	(1) the estimated cost of removing the solar power
136	136	facilities from the landowner's property, recycling or disposing of
137	137	all the components of the solar power facilities, and restoring the
138	138	property to as near as reasonably possible the condition of the
139	139	property as of the date the agreement begins and the estimated
140	140	salvage value of the solar power facilities must be determined by an
141	141	independent, third-party professional engineer licensed in this
142	142	state;
143	143	(2) the grantee must deliver to the landowner an
144	144	updated estimate, prepared by an independent, third-party
145	145	professional engineer licensed in this state, of the cost of
146	146	removal and recycling or disposal of the solar power facilities and
147	147	the salvage value:
148	148	(A) on or before the 10th anniversary of the
149	149	commercial operations date of the solar power facilities; and
150	150	(B) at least once every five years after the
151	151	commercial operations date of the solar power facilities for the
152	152	remainder of the term of the agreement; and
153	153	(3) the grantee is responsible for ensuring that the
154	154	amount of the financial assurance remains sufficient to cover the
155	155	amount required by Subsection (b), consistent with the estimates
156	156	required by this subsection.
157	157	(d) The grantee is responsible for the costs of obtaining
158	158	financial assurance described by this section and costs of
159	159	determining the estimated removal, recycling, and disposal costs
160	160	and salvage value.
161	161	SECTION 7. Chapters 301 and 302, Utilities Code, as amended
162	162	by this Act, apply only to a wind or solar power facility agreement
163	163	entered into on or after the effective date of this Act. A wind or
164	164	solar power facility agreement entered into before the effective
165	165	date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately
166	166	before that date, and that law is continued in effect for that
167	167	purpose.
168	168	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.