Solar and wind operators would guarantee facility cleanup costs

The energy division would set rules for facility cleanup. The rules would cover solar and wind facilities and their sites, including associated equipment, structures, access roads, and facility-owned infrastructure. The rules would cover equipment removal or recycling, site restoration, needed monitoring, a completion time, and other measures the division considers appropriate.

Facility owners or operators would provide financial assurance to the energy division. These requirements would apply to owners and operators of solar and wind energy facilities. Assurance could be an irrevocable letter of credit, cash or surety bond, or facility-specific decommissioning insurance. The division would set categories based on factors such as facility size, location, equipment, and salvage value; each category would be at least $250,000 per facility. A qualifying insurance policy would need approval by the state insurance superintendent, be fully prepaid and noncancelable, name the state as owner and contingent beneficiary, and name a primary beneficiary who agrees to do the cleanup. It must meet the bill's other coverage requirements. Assurance would stay in force until the division releases it after the required work is complete. New facilities would provide assurance before operating. Facilities operating before July 1, 2026, would meet the requirements by January 1, 2028.

The division could order cleanup or forfeiture of assurance, and could sue to recover some cleanup costs. The cost-recovery lawsuit provision would apply to cleanup on land other than federal land. If an owner or operator misses the deadline in a division order, the assurance would be forfeited and deposited in the decommissioning fund. The division could sue the operator to recover costs if assurance is insufficient and the division spends money on cleanup on land other than federal land. Money recovered would go to the fund. The fund could help pay for cleanup, but spending would require legislative approval.