One of the biggest states for solar passed legislation to require the recycling of retired solar and wind projects, pending the governor’s approval.
HB 3228 requires renewable energy facilities in Texas to recycle all components that are capable of being reused or recycled. The bill would also require nonrecyclable components to be properly disposed of. HB 3229 set reporting and financial assurance requirements for recycling facilities. This bill aims to address a pass situation within the wind industry, where a recycling facility failed to fulfill its promise to General Electric to recycle about 5,000 wind turbine blades. Both bills were introduced by Rep. Stan Lambert (R).
Under the bill, solar facility agreements must stipulate that the grantee is responsible for collecting and reusing or recycling, or shipping for reuse or recycling, all components that are practicably capable of being reused or recycled, including the modules.
The agreements must also stipulate that grantees are responsible for disposing of all components that are not practicably capable of being reused or recycled. Under this requirement, the hazardous components must be disposed of at facilities that are authorized to dispose of hazardous substances, and the nonhazardous components must be disposed of at a municipal solid waste landfill or other appropriate waste disposal facility authorized under state and federal law to dispose of that type of component.
Texas currently requires solar, battery energy storage and wind companies to fully decommission projects, including removing the infrastructure and restoring the land. HB 3228 would add to these requirements, mandating that projects provide landowners the estimated cost of removing the project from the landowner’s property, including recycling or disposing of all the project’s components project, within the project’s agreement.
(See also: Experts weigh in on solar recycling, repowering and public policy & Solar panel recycling: Demand, technology and supply chain)
Both the Senate and the House unanimously passed the bill. The bill’s testimony received unanimous support while it was in the House committee, with 21 industry groups, businesses and individuals registering in favor of the bill.
According to the Department of Energy, Texas has several solar recycling facilities, including Electronic Recyclers International in Flower Mound, Echo Environmental Holdings in Carrollton, Device Services Group in McKinney, Okon Recycling in Dallas, Solarpanelrecycling.com in Breckenridge, and SolarCycle in Odessa.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), only a few states had policies requiring recycling or reuse of components at the time of decommissioning or end of life as of 2024. However, some states have enacted legislation related to waste characterization for solar panels to be recycled, while other states have varying requirements. Maine, for example, requires any recyclable solar components to be recycled by an authorized facility. At the federal level, solar modules are considered hazardous waste, while policies that require recycling or reuse of components are scattered among U.S. states.
A recycling mandate in one of the biggest solar states would be a considerable win for environmentalists. Texas is expected to add the most solar among all states over the next 5 years, with a projected growth of 41 GW, according to SEIA. For context, the United States has about 224 GW of solar installed cumulatively in its entire history through 2024, 41.5 GW of which is in Texas.
However, some speculate the bill is intended to stifle or discourage renewable energy in Texas, as the Lone Star State does not impose the same requirements on oil and gas companies. Though not to the extent of creating components to be recycled at the end of life, the Railroad Commission of Texas updated Texas’s primary oil and gas waste regulations earlier this year for the first time in more than 40 years. Among the new rules, which go into effect July 1, are rules that will require oil and gas companies to register the location of earthen waste pits that contain tox drilling waste. However, companies that hold leases to drill on private property will still be able to bury the toxic waste near the surface without notifying the landowner.
Because the recycling legislation for renewable energy facilities was sent to the governor with less than 10 days left in the session, Gov. Abbott will have 20 days after the session adjourns on June 2 to act, or it will become law by default. Unless Gov. Abbott vetoes the legislation, the act will go into effect Sept. 1, 2025.
Texas introduced several other notable bills this legislative session. The Texas Senate passed one bill that would limit the growth of energy storage. The Texas Senate passed another bill that aims for tighter renewable energy restrictions by imposing stricter regulatory compliance and removing property tax incentives for large clean energy projects. A third bill would speed up the permitting process for residential solar and energy storage installations.
Texas’s legislative session operates in odd years, so its legislators will reconvene for the next session in 2027.
Read about other solar-related bills state lawmakers are debating this legislative session here.
