Solar facilities; provide decommissioning requirements for.

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To: Judiciary A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Powell

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 1492

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH REASONABLE AND UNIFORM REQUIREMENTS TO 1
PROTECT LANDOWNERS AND COMMUNITIES FROM THE POTENTIAL HAZARDS AND 2
COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH RETIRED OR ABANDONED SOLAR ENERGY-GENERATING 3
FACILITIES, WHILE ALSO PROTECTING PROPERTY RIGHTS AND THE POSITIVE 4
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE RELIABILITY 5
OF THE ELECTRICAL GRID, AND THE ABILITY OF THE STATE OF 6
MISSISSIPPI TO ENCOURAGE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, QUALITY JOBS, AND 7
BUSINESS INVESTMENTS THAT REQUIRE LOW-COST ELECTRICITY FROM NEW 8
ENERGY SOURCES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 9
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 10
SECTION 1. The following words and phrases have the meanings 11
as provided in this section unless the context clearly indicates 12
otherwise: 13
(a) "Decommissioning cost" means the estimated cost of 14
performing the removal and restoration obligations set forth in 15
subsection (3) of this section, less the estimated salvage value 16
of the components of the solar power facility as of the date of 17
removal; 18
(b) "Grantee" means a person, other than a public 19
utility, as defined by Section 77-3-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, 20
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who leases property from a landowner or holds an easement interest 21
pursuant to a solar power facility agreement; 22
(c) "Landowner" means the owner or owners of a fee 23
simple interest in land; 24
(d) "Premises" means the real property leased or 25
granted by a landowner to a grantee pursuant to a solar power 26
facility agreement; 27
(e) (i) "Solar power facility" means, collectively, a 28
device or structure, or series thereof, that provides for the 29
collection of solar energy for electricity generation, together 30
with all facilities and equipment, other than any facility or 31
equipment owned by a public utility, as defined by Section 77-3-3, 32
Mississippi Code of 1972, located proximate to and in support of 33
the operation of such electricity generation device or structure, 34
including, without limitation, all underground and aboveground 35
electrical collection, distribution, and transmission lines; 36
inverters; transformers; substations; energy storage facilities; 37
telecommunications equipment and communication lines; 38
meteorological towers; maintenance yards; switchgear; fences; and 39
foundations supporting other components of the solar power 40
facility; and 41
(ii) "Solar power facility" does not include a 42
solar-generating device or structure that is less than five 43
megawatts (5 MW) in size, measured in alternating current at the 44
point of interconnection to the electrical grid, unless the 45
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application of this part is expressly provided for in the solar 46
power facility agreement; and 47
(f) "Solar power facility agreement" means a lease or 48
easement agreement for real property between a grantee and a 49
landowner for the construction, installation and operation of all 50
or a part of a solar power facility on such real property that 51
generates electricity primarily for use and consumption off the 52
premises. 53
(2) All solar power facility agreements: 54
(a) Must provide, at a minimum, that the grantee shall, 55
upon or prior to the expiration or termination of the solar power 56
facility agreement, safely remove or cause the removal of all 57
components of the solar power facility located on the premises, 58
except for any electrical or communications lines buried more than 59
three feet below the surface grade of the land, and restore the 60
land comprising the premises to, as near as reasonably possible, a 61
condition suitable for supporting the same general land use 62
existing on the premises as of the date of the commencement of 63
construction of the solar power facility; and 64
(b) Must either contain or provide that the grantee 65
shall deliver to the landowner a decommissioning plan detailing 66
the grantee's plan for performing or causing the performance of 67
the obligations in subsection (2)(a). 68
(3) (a) A solar power facility agreement must require the 69
grantee to obtain and deliver to the landowner financial assurance 70
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in the following amounts to secure the performance of the 71
grantee's removal and restoration obligations in subsection (2) of 72
this section: 73
(i) No less than five percent (5%) of the 74
decommissioning cost on the date the solar power facility 75
commences commercial operation; 76
(ii) No less than fifty percent (50%) of the 77
decommissioning cost on the tenth anniversary of the date the 78
solar power facility commences commercial operation; and 79
(iii) No less than the decommissioning cost on the 80
fifteenth anniversary of the date the solar power facility 81
commences commercial operation. 82
(b) Acceptable forms of financial assurance must be set 83
forth in the solar power facility agreement and must include one 84
(1) or more of the following in the amount required by subsection 85
(3)(a): 86
(i) A surety bond; 87
(ii) A collateral bond; 88
(iii) An irrevocable letter of credit; 89
(iv) A parent guaranty; 90
(v) Cash; 91
(vi) A cashier's check; 92
(vii) A certificate of deposit; 93
(viii) A bank joint custody receipt; 94
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(ix) An approved negotiated instrument not 95
described in this subsection; or 96
(x) A combination of the forms of security 97
described in this subsection. 98
(c) A landowner has the right to expressly extend the 99
date the financial assurance required by this act is first 100
delivered to the landowner to no later than the fifteenth 101
anniversary of the date the solar power facility commences 102
commercial operation. 103
(4) This section does not prohibit a local government from 104
regulating solar power facilities pursuant to its zoning authority 105
granted in Title 17, except that a local government shall not 106
impose solar power facility removal or restoration obligations or 107
require financial assurance securing such obligations beyond those 108
requiring a demonstration of compliance with this part. 109
(5) Except as provided in subsection (3), a provision of a 110
solar power facility agreement that purports to waive a right or 111
exempt a grantee from a liability or duty established by this 112
section is void unless the landowner and the grantee are 113
affiliated entities. 114
(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the 115
discretion of counties or municipalities pursuant to their 116
authority granted under Title 27 of Mississippi Code. 117
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ST: Solar facilities; provide decommissioning
requirements for.
(7) In addition to other remedies available at law, a person 118
who is harmed by a violation of this section is entitled to relief 119
pursuant to M.R.C.P. 57. 120
(8) The requirements of this section only apply to solar 121
power facility agreements initially entered into on or after the 122
effective date of this act. If a grantee and landowner agree to 123
amend a solar power facility agreement initially entered into 124
before the effective date of this act, the parties may include the 125
rights and obligations established by this section, and this 126
section must govern such amended agreements. 127
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 128
and after July 1, 2026, and shall stand repealed on June 30, 2026. 129