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PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 1414, 2616 PRINTER'S NO. 2839
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 1260
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY RUSNOCK, PIELLI, GIRAL, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, HILL-
EVANS, SCHLOSSBERG, OTTEN, MADDEN, ISAACSON, INGLIS, WAXMAN,
HANBIDGE, MULLINS, VITALI, NEILSON, SANCHEZ, FRANKEL, RIVERA,
SALISBURY, KHAN, BOROWSKI, McNEILL, BRENNAN, MERSKI,
PASHINSKI, DEASY, FREEMAN, KINKEAD, ABNEY, PROBST,
KOSIEROWSKI, MUNROE, MAYES, BURGOS, HARKINS, CARROLL, SCOTT,
D. WILLIAMS, VENKAT, GUENST, MARKOSEK, TAKAC, SAMUELSON AND
DOUGHERTY, APRIL 21, 2025
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON ENERGY, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
AS AMENDED, NOVEMBER 18, 2025
AN ACT
Providing for solar-ready projects involving a warehouse or
distribution center; authorizing tax exemptions and special
tax provisions; imposing duties on the Department of
Environmental Protection; and imposing penalties.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Solar-Ready
Warehouse and Distribution Center Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Applicant." A person applying for a waiver from the solar-
ready requirements under section 3.
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"Department." The Department of Environmental Protection of
the Commonwealth.
"Eligible project costs." Costs related to the purchase and
installation of equipment directly related to a retrofit project
for a solar-ready warehouse or distribution center.
"Large-scale warehouse or distribution center." A warehouse
or distribution center with a floor area that is at least
100,000 square feet.
"Local taxing authority." A county, city, borough,
incorporated town, township, institution district or school
district having authority to levy real property taxes.
"Retrofit project." A project involving a change in design,
construction or equipment already in operation in order to
incorporate later improvements.
"Solar-ready." With respect to a building, designed and
constructed in a manner that facilitates and optimizes the
installation of solar photovoltaic panels on the roof of the
building or other areas of the building.
"Warehouse or distribution center." As follows:
(1) A building or group of buildings on the same lot
used for the indoor storage of goods, products and materials
or the receipt of bulk products and separation and
distribution of those products to another warehouse or to
individual end-user consumers.
(2) The term includes value-added services between a
supplier and its customers, such as breaking down of large
orders from a single source into smaller orders, product
mixing, sorting, packaging, cross-docking, order fulfillment,
order returns or the consolidation of several orders into one
large order for distribution to several recipients. THIS
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PARAGRAPH DOES NOT INCLUDE THE PROVISION OF PUBLIC UTILITY
SERVICES.
Section 3. Solar-ready requirements.
(a) Applicability.--This section applies to each large-scale
warehouse or distribution center for which construction is
commenced on or after the effective date of this subsection.
(b) Large-scale warehouse or distribution center.--Each
large-scale warehouse or distribution center shall be solar-
ready.
(c) Design.--Solar-ready design shall include the following
features:
(1) A minimum of 40% of the roof area designated as
suitable for solar photovoltaic installation, free from
obstructions such as HVAC systems, vents or other equipment.
(2) Structural integrity sufficient to support the
installation of solar photovoltaic systems, accounting for
the weight of panels, mounting systems and potential wind or
snow loads.
(3) Conduit pathways from the roof to the electrical
room of the building to accommodate wiring for solar energy
systems ALLOW FOR FUTURE ACCOMMODATION OF WIRING FOR SOLAR
ENERGY SYSTEMS.
(4) An appropriately sized space in the electrical room
of the building for solar energy inverters and related
equipment. SPATIAL CAPACITY AND CONFIGURATION TO ALLOW FOR
THE FUTURE INSTALLATION OF SOLAR ENERGY INVERTERS AND RELATED
EQUIPMENT.
Section 4. Waivers.
(a) Grant of waiver request.--The department may grant to an
applicant a waiver from the solar-ready requirements under
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section 3 only under the following conditions:
(1) The applicant demonstrates that the physical
characteristics of the site make compliance technically
infeasible, including:
(i) Shading SHADING from an adjacent building,
terrain or vegetation that permanently obstructs
sufficient solar access.
(ii) Structural constraints specific to the building
site, such as poor soil conditions requiring extensive
and cost-prohibitive engineering modifications.
(2) The applicant demonstrates that the additional costs
incurred to meet the requirements arise solely from the
extraordinary site conditions or external factors beyond the
typical scope of construction for a warehouse or distribution
center and exceed a defined financial threshold, such as 10%
of the total construction budget.
(b) Denial or waiver request.--The following considerations
shall not be grounds for a waiver under this section:
(1) General compliance costs associated with meeting the
solar-ready requirements under section 3.
(2) The applicant's perceived market feasibility, tenant
demand or return on investment.
(3) Financial hardship related to the overall
construction project unless directly attributable to the
characteristics, conditions or external factors described in
subsection (a).
(c) Requirements for applicant seeking waiver.--An applicant
seeking a waiver under this section must:
(1) Submit a detailed report prepared by a licensed
engineer or architect documenting the specific site
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constraints or cost factors that make compliance infeasible
or disproportionately expensive.
(2) Provide itemized cost estimates from at least two
independent contractors or experts to substantiate claims of
undue financial burden.
(3) Include a signed affidavit attesting that the
claimed hardship arises solely from site-specific or
technical limitations, not general construction or market
considerations.
(d) Duties of department.--The department shall:
(1) Prescribe the form and manner for submitting a
waiver request under this section.
(2) Establish specific guidelines for evaluating waiver
requests, including definitions of "extraordinary site
conditions" and standardized thresholds for cost assessments.
(3) Provide a written decision on all waiver requests,
including an explanation of the reasons for granting or
denying a waiver.
Section 5. Guidance.
The department shall issue guidance documents to assist
developers and construction professionals in complying with this
act.
Section 6. Prevailing wage.
An employer or contractor contracted to complete a solar-
ready project in accordance with this act shall pay the
prevailing minimum wage and benefit rates for all crafts or
classifications performing construction, reconstruction,
demolition, alteration and repair work, other than maintenance
work, on the project as determined by the Department of Labor
and Industry under the act of August 15, 1961 (P.L.987, No.442),
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known as the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act, and as bid under
the act of May 1, 1913 (P.L.155, No.104), referred to as the
Separations Act.
Section 7. Enforcement and penalties.
(a) Enforcement.--The department shall have the authority to
inspect construction plans and completed buildings to ensure
compliance with this act.
(b) Penalty.--A person that violates this act shall be
subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $100,000 for each
violation.
Section 8. Tax exemptions and special tax provisions.
(a) Authorization.--Each local taxing authority may provide
a tax exemption or special tax provision related to an increase
in the value of real estate resulting from retrofit projects of
a warehouse or distribution center within the boundaries of the
local taxing authority.
(b) Approval required.--A tax exemption or special tax
provision authorized under this section is not enforceable until
the governing body of a local taxing authority with jurisdiction
to levy real estate taxes on a property has approved an
ordinance or resolution adopting the tax exemption or special
tax provision. Other similarly situated local taxing authorities
may subsequently approve a tax exemption or special tax
provision.
(c) Notice.--
(1) Upon adoption of an ordinance or resolution
authorizing a tax exemption or special tax provision under
this section by a local taxing authority, the local taxing
authority shall post a notice of the adoption in a newspaper
of general circulation in the area. The local taxing
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authority may also post the notice on its publicly accessible
Internet website, if available.
(2) Upon adoption of an ordinance or resolution
authorizing a tax exemption or special tax provision under
this section by multiple local taxing authorities having
mutual jurisdiction to levy real estate taxes on a property,
a joint notice of adoption of the tax exemption or special
tax provision shall be published in a newspaper of general
circulation in the area. Each local taxing authority that
comprises the group of multiple local taxing authorities
shall also post a notice of the adoption on its publicly
accessible Internet website, if available.
(d) Amount.--A local taxing authority granting a tax
exemption or special tax provision under this section may
provide for the tax exemption or special tax provision on the
assessment attributable to the actual cost of eligible project
costs associated with retrofit projects to construct a solar-
ready zone or up to a maximum cost uniformly established by the
local taxing authority. The maximum cost shall uniformly apply
within the local taxing authority's jurisdiction.
(e) Schedule.--Whether or not the assessment eligible for a
tax exemption or special tax provision is based upon actual cost
or a maximum cost, the amount of taxes exempted shall be in
accordance with the schedule of taxes exempted established by
the local taxing authority subject to the following limitations:
(1) The length of the schedule of taxes exempted shall
not exceed 10 years.
(2) The schedule of taxes exempted shall stipulate the
portion of eligible project costs to be exempted each year.
(3) The exemption from taxes shall be limited to the
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additional assessment valuation attributable to the actual
costs of new construction or improvements to a warehouse or
distribution center or not more than the maximum cost
established by the local taxing authority.
(f) Sale or exchange.--A tax exemption or special tax
provision under this section shall be upon the subject property
and shall not terminate upon the sale or exchange of the
property.
(g) Procedure for obtaining tax exemption or special tax
provision.--A person desiring a tax exemption or special tax
provision for the eligible costs associated with retrofit
projects to construct a solar-ready zone as authorized by an
ordinance or resolution adopted under this act must notify the
appropriate local taxing authority in writing on an application
form provided by the local taxing authority. The application
form must be submitted at the time that the person secures the
building permit for the property or, if no building permit or
other notification is required for the redevelopment of the
property, at the time that the person commences construction.
(h) Amendment of ordinance or resolution.--The amounts and
schedules under subsections (d) and (e) in effect at the time of
an initial request for a tax exemption or special tax provision
shall govern the initial request, and any subsequent amendment
of the applicable ordinance or resolution affecting the amounts
or schedules shall not apply to the initial request.
Section 9. Rules and regulations.
The department shall adopt or promulgate rules and
regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this act,
including technical specifications for solar-ready design and
construction.
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Section 10. Effective date.
This act shall take effect immediately.
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