[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6676883,"mediaKeyId","2346968-ac91ae7ad253a8ff9aa9d5f0ffaeeaae","parentId",2346968,"title","Panel advances bill requiring large-scale solar facilities to use recyclers; fines proposed for landfill disposal","audioSeconds",1671,"startMs",1857000,"endMs",3528000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2346968-ac91ae7ad253a8ff9aa9d5f0ffaeeaae&start=1857&end=3528","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2346968-ac91ae7ad253a8ff9aa9d5f0ffaeeaae/thumbnail_1857000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6676883/Georgia/Panel-advances-bill-requiring-large-scale-solar-facilities-to-use-recyclers-fines-proposed-for-landfill-disposal","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6676883-591954443f972ff521eb6e62a1178ece/orig.mp4?Expires=1773618752&Signature=JnT8pAdfK48sIYLsE7A4Qh3ZQWesn6PetIu2ddz6Pk~zNIk5QDv9gm33RWzDWJG6k4T7m9heD9SjyZAUKQPNgVOOaoG3GKWuRyO9tR9AMjKyzqHtswczgY26uX10kRQTGkN~PGylZpcrBQ6NAhWhR4VLVIL0dsY5s0HMJVOgLqCjuEl8kSKNsWX8z7yO3Dztzte0G~4Fyntyhyx~yP1f5zGGF~G1zCoOTuFyaeMWBD1vvBp0Cy4oUBUIEHu3eeHu29pfk7TdQfNACehLB2iV7gkdhVBbAEJX7XdJ4YZQKP028jFI0nGqlDShOK8~jwdQgISKi7n-hXwoCTQ80HAYWw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","State of Georgia ","date","2025-02-19T21:22:31.22Z","article","Representative Trey Kelly introduced House Bill 320 in the Resource Management Subcommittee, proposing that large-scale solar-power facilities send decommissioned solar panels to certified recyclers rather than municipal landfills. The measure would not cover residential installations, Kelly said; it targets utility-scale projects defined elsewhere in code.

\"When those panels reach their end of life, it would require that... the big megawatt projects... require them to be taken to a solar recycling facility,\" Kelly said. He told the committee the bill defines \"legitimate recycling facility\" and sets a civil penalty for landfill disposal at $20 per panel.

Kelly framed the proposal around the rapid growth of solar in Georgia and the potential volume of material that will reach end-of-life. He told the committee the state currently has about 7,300 megawatts of installed solar capacity and expects to add about 3,600 megawatts in the next five years; he also said about 1 megawatt equals roughly 3,500 panels. Kelly offered estimates for future waste volumes, saying earlier in testimony the state could see \"about 25,000,000 panels\" within the next decade and later citing an estimate of \"38,000,000 panels\" over a five-year horizon and a 2050 discard projection of about 425,000 tons.

Industry witnesses endorsed the idea as both an environmental and economic opportunity. Scott Moskowitz, vice president for market strategy and industry affairs at Q Cells, said the company supports the bill and that a recycling requirement would help build an end-to-end domestic solar supply chain. \"This House Bill 320 represents a very practical, business-oriented solution to make sure that solar panels are ethically and responsibly recycled,\" Moskowitz said, adding the bill would create recycling-sector jobs without imposing costs on state government.

Edward Lindsey, an attorney speaking for a recycler, told the committee that industry recycling processes can recover most materials in panels. \"About 99% of our solar panels can be recycled,\" he said, and added that recovered materials such as silicon, silver and copper can reduce future mining needs.

Committee members pressed the sponsor on the penalty level. Representative McCollum asked why the civil penalty was set at $20 per panel; McCollum and Representative Davis expressed concern that a low per-panel fine might not deter bad actors. Kelly said he selected $20 to make unlawful disposal more expensive than legitimate recycling and to avoid an excessively punitive fee that might be unnecessary given expected recycling costs. EPD staff said they had not produced statewide landfill-impact calculations during the hearing.

The bill drew testimony from multiple industry and recycler representatives attending the hearing. The subcommittee voted to report the bill favorably to the full committee after a motion by the chair; the measure will be considered in the full committee at the next scheduled meeting.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Natural Resources & Environment Resource Management Subcommittee 02.19.25","oneSentenceSummary","Representative Trey Kelly presented a bill to require end-of-life solar panels from large-scale projects be taken to certified recycling facilities and to impose a per-panel civil penalty for sending panels to landfills. Industry leaders including Q Cells and recycler representatives testified in support.","taxTitle","Natural Resources & Environment, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Committees, Legislative, Georgia","taxId",17248,"location","Georgia","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6676888,"Subcommittee advances bill to revise state solid-waste law, clarify local verification and public notice",1189,644000,1833000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2346968-ac91ae7ad253a8ff9aa9d5f0ffaeeaae&start=644&end=1833","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2346968-ac91ae7ad253a8ff9aa9d5f0ffaeeaae/thumbnail_644000.jpg","/articles/6676888/Georgia/Subcommittee-advances-bill-to-revise-state-solid-waste-law-clarify-local-verification-and-public-notice","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6676888-a325327e53fdff3aafee4ac71f4ca4c7/orig.mp4?Expires=1773618752&Signature=nw49krS5V4ejtUC8~upUltuC655Y-aKeYEGXE5ovlL7cukJkMdvuiSagZTwUJ2UdqjM5ACfXx4IPm7CB2Tw06buRiVmaGu7k-6IoviM3mYQngCUafQe~TUgr83CxQqAaTby9-fN5AnADAuzGm6ohBRQluAXhOZBaW3C-lZ5oCu~Wl-qaMz6YnR549fkLDFOHXvpTYZQanplnFrcSDxm3z30UdABiKeBOu9fHu0EFrD6wQ9yXLSYkCYV3TEpj~x2K0JXjKWd21twiBYwvMgqaSEa2OXKEP1kiilH5siu5AG9Krcc-2icBkVcnRoYMaTL6vATFZ1mHY4NPhP4CiC6-Eg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Chairman John Corbett presented House Bill 351 to the Resource Management Subcommittee of Natural Resources, saying the measure would revise the Solid Waste Management Act by removing provisions courts have found unconstitutional and by clarifying local and state roles in permitting and public participation.

\"This legislation is intended to revise the solid waste act, to do several things. 1, it removes provisions courts have determined to be unconstitutional or unenforceable,\" Corbett said, reading from the bill text. He told the panel the bill also resolves inconsistencies in the act and specifies the Environmental Protection Division's (EPD) responsibilities for reviewing local approvals.

The bill deletes the statute's references to \"special solid waste\" tied to out-of-state waste and broadens and clarifies what must be treated as a \"major modification\" at solid-waste facilities. Corbett read the bill's definition: major modifications include changes that substantially alter facility design, management practices, the types of waste handled or methods of handling and that are likely to affect protection of human health and the environment. Examples listed include expansions of landfill capacity, lateral expansions of CCR surface impoundments, adding new handling processes such as baling, shredding, composting or liquid solidification, and changes to site-suitability determinations.

The bill also clarifies the role of local governments in issuing written verifications that proposed facilities comply with local solid-waste management plans and zoning. It sets a maximum age for such verifications at the time of application (36, as stated in the bill text) and requires informal, informational public meetings before a local government issues written verification. The bill removes references to the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) where DCA no longer has statutory authority, and moves several reporting and submission duties to EPD.

EPD staff described the measure as largely corrective. \"This is a very mature act,\" an EPD speaker said, noting the 1990 law has seen few changes and that the bill aims to help local governments, the private waste industry and EPD get clearer, defensible permits without added state cost. Sarah Fisher, assistant chief of EPD's Land Protection Branch, told the committee the bill preserves a newspaper-of-record publication requirement for public notices and requires posting at the entrance to a proposed site; the bill does not specify a sign size.

Representative Rhonda Davis (committee member) raised local concerns based on a recycling site in her district where an EPD-issued permit conflicted with the county's waste-management plan. \"Because our county government ended up spending thousands of dollars in attorney fees trying to prove that the person who went after this permit really had no right to do that,\" she said, praising the bill's clarification that identifies who may submit verification letters on behalf of a local government.

April Lipscomb, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, said she and clients had intervened in litigation supporting local governments and noted the bill will reduce confusion and future litigation. \"I do think this bill absolutely clarifies those provisions and will help prevent litigation in the future,\" she said, while also urging additional environmental protections and public-participation measures she said EPD declined to add.

Committee members asked several technical questions about notice timing and administrative details. Representative Dreiner asked where meeting notices must be published; EPD staff responded that notices must be in the local newspaper of record and posted at the site entrance, and that the bill clarifies the timing requirements for a 14-day and 7-day notice prior to public hearings.

After discussion, a committee member moved that the subcommittee give the bill a favorable recommendation (a \"do pass\" report). The committee voice vote returned in favor and the chairman announced the measure would be reported to the full committee for consideration.

The subcommittee record shows the measure drew comment from EPD staff, the Southern Environmental Law Center and several legislators; the bill was advanced to the full committee for further action at the panel's meeting the following day.

The full committee action will determine whether the bill moves to the House floor.

","The Resource Management Subcommittee voted to advance House Bill 351, which revises the state's solid waste law to remove unconstitutional language, clarify what constitutes major modifications at waste facilities, tighten requirements for local-government consistency verifications and change reporting and notice procedures.","actionData","errors"]

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Panel advances bill requiring large-scale solar facilities to use recyclers; fines proposed for landfill disposal

Subcommittee advances bill to revise state solid-waste law, clarify local verification and public notice