Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official page posted by the Mississippi Legislature, fetched 2026-08-29. This is the enrolled version. The official bill page.
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE 2026 Regular Session To: Energy By: Senator(s) Carter, McCaughn Senate Bill 2527 (As Sent to Governor) AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR DECOMMISSIONING OF SOLAR PANELS; TO DEFINE TERMS; TO PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR SOLAR POWER FACILITY AGREEMENTS CONCERNING REMOVAL OR RESTORATION; TO REQUIRE AGREEMENTS TO REQUIRE THE GRANTEE TO OBTAIN AND DELIVER TO THE LANDOWNER FINANCIAL ASSURANCE IN CERTAIN AMOUNTS TO SECURE PERFORMANCE OF REMOVAL AND RESTORATION OBLIGATIONS; TO PROVIDE ACCEPTABLE FORMS OF ASSURANCE; TO AUTHORIZE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO REGULATE SOLAR POWER FACILITIES UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS; TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN AGREEMENTS THAT PURPORT TO WAIVE A RIGHT OR EXEMPT A GRANTEE FROM LIABILITY OR DUTY IS VOID; TO PROVIDE THAT NOTHING IN THIS ACT SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO LIMIT THE DISCRETION OF COUNTIES OR MUNICIPALITIES PURSUANT TO CERTAIN AUTHORITIES; TO PROVIDE FOR REMEDIES; TO PROVIDE FOR APPLICABILITY OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: SECTION 1. (1) As used in this section, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise: (a) "Decommissioning cost" means the estimated cost of performing the removal and restoration obligations set forth in subsection (3) of this section, less the estimated salvage value of the components of the solar power facility as of the date of removal. (b) "Grantee means a person, other than a public utility, as defined by Section 77-3-3, who leases property from a landowner or holds an easement interest pursuant to a solar power facility agreement. (c) "Landowner" means the owner or owners of a fee simple interest in land. (d) "Premises" means the real property leased or granted by a landowner to a grantee pursuant to a solar power facility agreement. (e) (i) "Solar power facility" means, collectively, a device or structure, or series thereof, that provides for the collection of solar energy for electricity generation, together with all facilities and equipment, other than any facility or equipment owned by a public utility, as defined by Section 77-3-3, located proximate to and in support of the operation of such electricity generation device or structure, including, without limitation, all underground and aboveground electrical collection, distribution, and transmission lines; inverters; transformers; substations; energy storage facilities; telecommunications equipment and communication lines; meteorological towers; maintenance yards; switchgear; fences; and foundations supporting other components of the solar power facility; and (ii) "Solar power facility" does not include a solar-generating device or structure that is less than five (5) megawatts in size, measured in alternating current at the point of interconnection to the electrical grid, unless the application of this section is expressly provided for in the solar power facility agreement. (f) "Solar power facility agreement" means a lease or easement agreement for real property between a grantee and a landowner for the construction, installation and operation of all or a part of a solar power facility on such real property that generates electricity primarily for use and consumption off the premises. (2) All solar power facility agreements: (a) Shall provide, at a minimum, that the grantee shall, upon or prior to the expiration or termination of the solar power facility agreement, safely remove or cause the removal of all components of the solar power facility located on the premises, except for any electrical or communications lines buried more than three (3) feet below the surface grade of the land, and restore the land comprising the premises to, as near as reasonably possible, a condition suitable for supporting the same general land use existing on the premises as of the date of the commencement of construction of the solar power facility, or such other land use as mutually agreed to in writing by the grantor and grantee; and (b) Shall either contain or provide that the grantee shall deliver to the landowner a decommissioning plan detailing the grantee's plan for performing or causing the performance of the obligations in paragraph (a) of this subsection (2). (3) (a) A solar power facility agreement must require the grantee to obtain and deliver to the landowner financial assurance in the following amounts to secure the performance of the grantee's removal and restoration obligations in subsection (2) of this section: (i) No less than five percent (5%) of the decommissioning cost on the date the solar power facility commences commercial operation; (ii) No less than fifty percent (50%) of the decommissioning cost on the tenth anniversary of the date the solar power facility commences commercial operation; and (iii) No less than the decommissioning cost on the fifteenth anniversary of the date the solar power facility commences commercial operation. (b) Acceptable forms of financial assurance must be set forth in the solar power facility agreement and must include one or more of the following in the amount required by paragraph (a) of this subsection (3): (i) A surety bond; (ii) A collateral bond; (iii) An irrevocable letter of credit; (iv) A parent guaranty; (v) Cash; (vi) A cashier's check; (vii) A certificate of deposit; (viii) A bank joint custody receipt; (ix) An approved negotiated instrument not described in subparagraphs (i) through (viii) of this paragraph (b); or (x) A combination of the forms of security described in subparagraphs (i) through (ix) of this paragraph (b). (c) A landowner has the right to expressly extend the date the financial assurance required by this subsection (3) is first delivered to the landowner no later than the fifteenth anniversary of the date the solar power facility commences commercial operation. (4) This section does not prohibit a local government from regulating solar power facilities pursuant to its zoning authority granted in Title 17, Mississippi Code of 1972, except that a local government shall not impose solar power facility removal or restoration obligations or require financial assurance securing such obligations beyond those requiring a demonstration of compliance with this section. (5) Except as provided in subsection (3)(c) of this section, a provision of a solar power facility agreement that purports to waive a right or exempt a grantee from a liability or duty established by this section is void unless the landowner and the grantee are affiliated entities. (6) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the discretion of counties or municipalities pursuant to their authority granted under Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972. (7) In addition to other remedies available at law, a person who is harmed by a violation of this section is entitled to relief pursuant to Rule 57 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. (8) The environmental samples shall be tested during decommissioning and the results of such testing shall be provided to the Public Service Commission. (9) The requirements of this section only apply to solar power facility agreements initially entered into on or after the effective date of this act. If a grantee and landowner agree to amend a solar power facility agreement initially entered into before the effective date of this act, the parties may include the rights and obligations established by this section, and this section must govern such amended agreements. SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.
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