Utilities

HB 193 2026

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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to utilities; amending s. 163.3205, 2
F.S.; revising legislative intent; defining terms; 3
authorizing a county to adopt an ordinance for the 4
decommissioning of certain solar facilities that have 5
reached the end of their useful life; providing for 6
the rebuttal of certain presumptions; authorizing a 7
county to require financial assurance from a solar 8
facility owner to establish that the solar facility 9
owner has the capability to satisfy the estimated cost 10
of decommissioning the solar facility; authorizing a 11
county to decommission a solar facility under certain 12
circumstances; requiring the Department of 13
Environmental Protection to develop best management 14
practices (BMPs) for the construction of a solar 15
facility; specifying requirements for the BMPs; 16
requiring the department to review certain information 17
to revise and update such BMPs annually; requiring a 18
solar facility operator to implement specified BMPs; 19
amending s. 366.96, F.S.; requiring that improvements 20
included in certain transmission and distribution 21
storm protection plans have forecasted customer 22
benefits that exceed their forecasted cost; revising 23
the factors that the Public Service Commission must 24
consider in reviewing such plans; deleting obsolete 25

HB 193 2026

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language; requiring the commission to submit a 26
proposed rule for adoption by a specified date; 27
providing an effective date. 28
29
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 30
31
Section 1. Section 163.3205, Florida Statutes, is amended 32
to read: 33
163.3205 Solar facility approval process; decommissioning 34
requirements; construction requirements.— 35
(1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—It is the intent of the 36
Legislature to encourage renewable solar electrical generation 37
throughout this state, while ensuring that agricultural land 38
used for a solar facility be returned to its original state and 39
be viable for agricultural use at the end of the solar 40
facility's useful life. It is essential that solar facilities 41
and associated electric infrastructure be constructed and 42
maintained in various locations throughout this state in order 43
to ensure the availability of renewable energy production, which 44
is critical to this state's energy and economic future. 45
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 46
(a) "Agricultural land" means land within: 47
1. An area categorized as agricultural land in a local 48
government comprehensive plan. Such categorization includes any 49
agricultural land use category; or 50

HB 193 2026

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2. An agricultural zoning district within an 51
unincorporated area. 52
(b) "Decommission" means the removal of a solar facility 53
and return of agricultural land that was used for the solar 54
facility to an agriculturally useful condition similar to that 55
which existed before construction of the solar facility, 56
including the removal of above-ground facilities and 57
infrastructure that do not serve a continuing purpose. 58
(c) "Solar facility" means a production facility for 59
electric power which: 60
1.(a) Uses photovoltaic modules to convert solar energy to 61
electricity that may be stored on site, delivered to a 62
transmission system, and consumed primarily offsite. 63
2.(b) Consists principally of photovoltaic modules, a 64
mounting or racking system, power inverters, transformers, 65
collection systems, battery systems, fire suppression equipment, 66
and associated components. 67
3.(c) May include accessory administration or maintenance 68
buildings, electric transmission lines, substations, energy 69
storage equipment, and related accessory uses and structures. 70
(3) PERMITTED USE.—A solar facility is shall be a 71
permitted use in all agricultural land use categories in a local 72
government comprehensive plan and all agricultural zoning 73
districts within an unincorporated area and must comply with the 74
setback and landscaped buffer area criteria for other similar 75

HB 193 2026

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uses in the agricultural district. 76
(4) LANDSCAPE REQUIREMENTS.—A county may adopt an 77
ordinance specifying buffer and landscaping requirements for 78
solar facilities. Such requirements may not exceed the 79
requirements for similar uses involving the construction of 80
other facilities that are permitted uses in agricultural land 81
use categories and zoning districts. 82
(5) DECOMMISSIONING.—A county may adopt an ordinance 83
requiring that a solar facility with a generating capacity of 1 84
megawatt or more be properly decommissioned within 24 months 85
after notice to the solar facility owner that the facility has 86
reached the end of its useful life. 87
(a) It is presumed that a solar facility has reached the 88
end of its useful life if: 89
1. The solar facility fails to produce power for a period 90
of 12 months after construction of the solar facility has been 91
completed. This 12-month period does not include a period in 92
which the solar facility does not produce power due to a 93
disaster or other event beyond the control of the facility 94
owner; or 95
2. The solar facility has been abandoned. A solar facility 96
is considered abandoned if: 97
a. After commencement of the solar facility's construction 98
but before its completion, no significant construction of the 99
facility occurs for a period of 24 months; or 100

HB 193 2026

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b. After becoming nonoperational due to a disaster or 101
other event beyond the control of the facility owner, no 102
significant reconstruction of the solar facility occurs for a 103
period of 12 months. 104
(b) A solar facility owner may rebut the presumption that 105
a solar facility has reached the end of its useful life by 106
submitting to the county a plan, a schedule, and adequate 107
assurances that construction or operation of the solar facility 108
will continue. 109
(c) A county may require financial assurance from a solar 110
facility owner in the form of a bond, an irrevocable letter of 111
credit established pursuant to chapter 675, a guarantee by the 112
solar facility owner's parent company, or another financial 113
device deemed adequate by the county to establish that the solar 114
facility owner has the capability to satisfy the estimated cost 115
of decommissioning the solar facility. 116
(d) If a facility owner does not complete decommissioning 117
in the timeframe required by county ordinance, the county may 118
take action to complete the decommissioning, including action to 119
require forfeiture of the financial assurance provided under 120
paragraph (c). A county must allow a solar facility owner at 121
least 12 months to commence decommissioning and 24 months to 122
complete decommissioning before taking such action. 123
(6) CONSTRUCTION BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES.— 124
(a) The Department of Environmental Protection shall 125

HB 193 2026

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develop best management practices (BMPs) for the construction of 126
a solar facility. Such BMPs must include, but are not limited 127
to, all of the following: 128
1. Requirements for percolation testing on the premises of 129
a proposed solar facility. 130
2. Requirements for stormwater runoff management during 131
the construction of a solar facility. 132
3. Requirements for construction design that would enable 133
a solar facility to withstand a 100-year storm event. 134
(b) The Department of Environmental Protection shall 135
update and revise its BMPs annually. As part of the update and 136
revision process, the department shall review all settlements, 137
consent decrees, judgments, and resolutions of civil cases since 138
2020 which relate to the construction of a solar facility. 139
(c) An operator of a solar facility or a proposed solar 140
facility shall implement all BMPs developed pursuant to 141
paragraph (a). 142
(7)(5) APPLICABILITY.—This section does not apply to any 143
site that was the subject of an application to construct a solar 144
facility submitted to a local governmental entity before July 1, 145
2021. 146
Section 2. Subsections (4) and (11) of section 366.96, 147
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 148
366.96 Storm protection plan cost recovery.— 149
(4) At a minimum, any improvement included in a 150

HB 193 2026

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transmission and distribution storm protection plan filed 151
pursuant to this section must have a forecasted customer benefit 152
that exceeds its forecasted cost. In addition, in its review of 153
each transmission and distribution storm protection plan filed 154
pursuant to this section, the commission shall consider: 155
(a) The extent to which the plan is expected to reduce 156
restoration costs and outage times associated with extreme 157
weather events and enhance reliability, including whether the 158
plan prioritizes areas of lower reliability performance and 159
whether the cost of implementing the plan is reasonable and 160
prudent, given the expected benefit. 161
(b) The extent to which storm protection of transmission 162
and distribution infrastructure is feasible, reasonable, or 163
practical in certain areas of the utility's service territory, 164
including, but not limited to, flood zones and rural areas. 165
(c) The estimated costs and benefits to the utility and 166
its customers of making the improvements proposed in the plan. 167
(d) The estimated annual rate impact resulting from 168
implementation of the plan during the first 3 years addressed in 169
the plan. 170
(e) The performance of previously approved plan 171
improvements in reducing outage times and storm restoration 172
costs. 173
(11) The commission shall adopt rules to implement and 174
administer this section and shall propose a rule for adoption as 175

HB 193 2026

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soon as practicable after the effective date of this act, but 176
not later than October 31, 2019. 177
Section 3. The Public Service Commission shall submit a 178
proposed rule for adoption which implements the amendments made 179
by this act to s. 366.96, Florida Statutes, as soon as 180
practicable after the effective date of this act, but not later 181
than October 31, 2026. 182
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 183