Pennsylvania has enacted sweeping new legislation governing the decommissioning of commercial solar energy facilities, replacing a fragmented system of local regulations with a uniform statewide framework.
Act 44 of 2026, signed into law on July 20, 2026, stems from Pennsylvania Senate Bill 349 and sets out detailed requirements for solar energy developers operating across the Commonwealth.
The legislation arrives as commercial solar farms have multiplied rapidly across Pennsylvania, prompting municipalities to craft their own decommissioning ordinances with widely varying financial requirements.
Some local ordinances had required developers to post bonds worth as much as 150% of estimated decommissioning costs, while others imposed flat fees as low as $50,000, creating inconsistency for developers operating across multiple jurisdictions.
Act 44 explicitly preempts those local rules, stating that “the regulation of the decommissioning of solar energy facilities is a matter of general Statewide interest that requires uniform Statewide regulation.”
The law further declares that “any county, municipal or other local government ordinance or regulation that materially impedes the purposes of this chapter shall be preempted and shall be without force and effect.”
Under the new framework, any grantee who executes a solar energy facility agreement must provide a decommissioning plan, submit proof of financial assurance to the county recorder of deeds, and notify the surface property owner.
Financial assurance requirements are phased in over the life of the project, beginning at 10% of estimated decommissioning costs no later than 30 days before construction commences.
By the 25th anniversary of construction, grantees must maintain financial assurance equal to 100% of estimated decommissioning costs, less salvage value, with a minimum floor of 70% of total estimated costs.
Salvage value calculations under Act 44 are strictly limited to salvageable steel, aluminium, and copper, and all cost estimates must be determined by a third-party professional engineer.
Acceptable forms of financial assurance include escrow accounts, certificates of deposit, irrevocable letters of credit, corporate surety bonds, and negotiable government bonds at the federal, state, or municipal level.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection must develop a provisional standard form for decommissioning plans within 180 days of the Act’s effective date, in consultation with the solar energy industry.
Decommissioning obligations include removing all non-utility-owned equipment, conduits, structures, fencing, and foundations to a depth of at least three feet below grade on the surface property owner’s land.
Grantees must also restore the property to a condition reasonably similar to its pre-construction state, including replacing topsoil on previously productive agricultural land where erosion or removal has occurred.
Once a facility ceases producing electricity, the grantee must complete decommissioning within 18 months, unless the operator is actively working to recommence electricity production following a force majeure or similar event.
The law does not apply to solar facilities with a nameplate capacity of two megawatts AC or less, nor to qualifying customer-generators or agricultural operators running solar on their own farming premises.
Ownership changes do not extinguish decommissioning obligations, as a new grantee must file fresh proof of financial assurance before the prior grantee is permitted to release their own financial security.
Act 44’s main provisions take effect 180 days after signing, with the exception of the DEP’s obligation to promulgate temporary regulations, which is effective immediately.
Solar energy developers operating in Pennsylvania will now need to carefully evaluate how these phased financial assurance obligations affect the economics and planning of both existing and proposed projects.
The legislation marks a significant shift in how Pennsylvania manages the long-term responsibilities attached to commercial solar development, placing far greater obligations on developers than most local ordinances had previously required.