Statutory Requirements for Solar Facilities

During the 2022 legislative session, the Tennessee General Assembly established the “Decommissioning Law,” Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-9-207, which imposes requirements on solar power facilities regarding decommissioning obligations and the required removal of solar power facilities upon or prior to the expiration or termination of the solar power facility agreement. The Decommissioning Law includes requirements that must be present in agreements between landowners and owners or operators of solar power facilities entered into on or after June 1, 2022, the effective date of the legislation.

The original Decommissioning Law addressed solar-generating devices or structures at least 10 MW in size. However, effective July 1, 2024, the law was amended to apply to solar-generating devices or structures at least 5 MW in size. “Solar power facilities,” as defined in the Decommissioning Law, do not include solar-generating devices or structures less than 5 megawatts (MW) in size, measured at the point of interconnection; however, parties to a solar power facility agreement may elect to apply the requirements of the Decommissioning Law to smaller structures.

Submitting Agreements to TDEC:

The 2024 legislation also tasks the TDEC Office of Energy Programs (OEP) with the responsibility of receiving and storing solar power facility agreements. Any information submitted to TDEC OEP may be considered public record and will be subject to disclosure, as required by Tennessee law. However, TDEC OEP is required by Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-3-514(b)(1) to “maintain the confidentiality of all proprietary information it may acquire.” Proprietary information is defined in Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-3-514(b)(2) as “trade secrets and commercial or financial information that is used either directly or indirectly in the business of any person submitting information to the office under this chapter, and that gives such person an advantage or an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not know or use such information.” Those responsible for submitting solar power facility agreements to TDEC OEP shall identify any proprietary information in the submitted documents. TDEC will review all submitted information to determine whether it contains any proprietary information. Further, TDEC will maintain a log of the documents that contain proprietary information to ensure that such is redacted prior to being produced in response to a records request or disseminated for other purposes.

Any personally identifying information, as defined in Tenn. Code Ann. §10-7-504(a)(29), contained in a solar power facility agreement will also be kept confidential, in accordance with State law.

In addition to filing the agreement with TDEC OEP, the filing party must notify the county mayor and municipal mayor, if applicable, of the local government where the solar power facility is located of the filing of the agreement with TDEC OEP.

Solar power facility agreements may be submitted to TDEC OEP via email to TDEC.OEP@tn.gov.