The Overview

If a solar company ever rents land from you, Pennsylvania just made sure it's the company, not you, that pays to clean up when the panels stop producing power. Pennsylvania's bill providing for the decommissioning of solar energy facilities, meaning the shutdown and removal of solar sites, became law when the governor approved it on July 20, adding new rules on solar cleanup to the state's environmental resources laws. Under the new law, solar facility owners have to file a cleanup plan and post financial guarantees that grow over time with the county recorder of deeds, both before a project starts and throughout its life.

The bill was led by Republican Sen. Gene Yaw and co-sponsored by Michele Brooks, Chris Gebhard, Scott Hutchinson, Tracy Pennycuick, Judy Ward, Cris Dush, Elder Vogel, Patrick Stefano, Doug Mastriano, and Camera Bartolotta.

Solar panels commonly last about 25 years, so as installations age, the question of who pays to remove equipment and restore the land has become more pressing. Fewer than 10 percent of decommissioned panels were being recycled, according to National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates reported by C&EN, and because state policies vary so widely, states and localities have been left to decide who pays for removal and how the land gets restored.

For leases signed after the law takes effect, the facility owner must clear a solar site within 18 months after it stops producing electricity, unless the owner is actively working to get it running again. The owner also has to set aside money to cover the job, starting at 10 percent of an engineer's cost estimate 30 days before construction and rising to 100 percent by year 25, minus salvage value and subject to minimum amounts. That money can be held in escrow, a certificate of deposit, a letter of credit, a surety bond, or government bonds. The standard cleanup plan form must cover removing equipment to at least three feet below ground, restoring the soil and land, and reseeding, unless the owner and grantee agree otherwise in writing.

The Demo

The bill exempts facilities of 2 megawatts (AC) or smaller, customer-generators under the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act, and normal farm operations that own and run solar facilities on their own property. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is tasked with developing the form, and the text names no specific enforcement body. Pennsylvania is home to about 13 million people in roughly 5.3 million households, with a median household income of $77,971 and 11.7 percent of residents living below the poverty line, according to 2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates. About 69 percent of homes are lived in by their owners. The law's protections apply to landowners who lease property to solar developers.

The Debate

The Pennsylvania Senate passed the bill on May 6, 2025, by a vote of 49 to 1. Two Senate committees backed the bill unanimously: the Environmental Resources & Energy Committee voted 11-0 on March 24, 2025, and the Appropriations Committee voted 22-0 on May 5, 2025. We could not find a House floor vote tally.

Sen. Gene Yaw said the law establishes "clear decommissioning standards and financial protections" so farmers hosting solar projects are not left with the cost or burden of removing infrastructure after a project ends, and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau called it "a critical step toward balancing the growth of renewable energy with the long-term interests of Pennsylvania's farm families." The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) opposed the bill, arguing it would "undermine years of work by township officials across the commonwealth" by overriding the solar cleanup rules that towns already have.

What's Next

The part of the law directing DEP to develop a standard cleanup plan form took effect as soon as the governor signed it. The remaining requirements take effect 180 days after the governor signed the bill. DEP must put the standard form in place through a temporary rule within 180 days of the relevant effective date, and the available bill summary sets no deadline for final regulations.

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