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Senate accepts substitute directing study of solar siting and creates decommissioning fund framework in H.7‑10
Summary
The Vermont Senate accepted a substitute amendment to H.7‑10 that clarifies when adjacent solar installations count as a single generating 'plant' and creates a PUC‑overseen decommissioning fund funded by surety fees; the substitute directs the Department of Public Service to report by Jan. 15, 2027, on land‑use impacts and recommendations.
The Senate took up H.7‑10 and accepted a substitute amendment that narrows the bill’s focus to two parts: clarifying when multiple solar installations are treated as a single electricity‑generating plant for program caps, and creating a decommissioning fund overseen by the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to pay for decommissioning abandoned or nonoperational generation or storage facilities.
Senator Watson, reporting for the Natural Resources and Energy Committee, told colleagues the bill “has 2 main parts.” The first clarifies whether colocated projects are treated as a single site — an issue that affects which program caps (net metering, standard offer, power‑purchase agreements) apply. Watson said the change reflects consensus stakeholder work and committee approval. The second part creates a decommissioning fund and authorizes the PUC to hire consultants and retain financial or actuarial services; monies would come from surety fees and could be used when a certificate‑of‑public‑good (CPG) holder cannot or will not decommission a site.
The floor debate centered on agriculture and siting. The senator from Essex offered an amendment aimed at protecting prime agricultural soils and urged extra scrutiny for projects on those lands. She said the issue was “as simple as it gets” and argued for consideration of alternatives such as rooftops and disturbed land. Watson and other senators opposed the Essex language as vague and potentially costly, calling for a more deliberate approach.
Watson instead offered a substitute that asks the Department of Public Service, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets, to report by Jan. 15, 2027, on issues including: acreage of prime agricultural soils converted over the past five years; how many acres were attributable to solar projects; distinctions between disturbed acreage and total project acreage; ownership patterns; whether forested land was cleared for projects; and recommendations to encourage siting on previously disturbed land (for example rooftops and parking lots) and possible financial structures to support such siting. Watson told colleagues the substitute was supported in Natural Resources and that it produced a vote in committee favoring the study language.
Supporters of the substitute pointed to examples of solar co‑use on farms and to the difficulty of making policy in the absence of statewide data. Opponents described the Essex amendment as effectively anti‑solar and said existing PUC and Agency of Agriculture review processes already include protections.
The Senate voted, the presiding officer declared the ayes to have it, and the substitute was accepted. The chamber then adopted the Committee on Natural Resources recommendation as amended and ordered H.7‑10 to third reading. Under the bill’s schedule as amended, the PUC will prepare the decommissioning fee formulas and report back to the Legislature for review before any fees are collected or expended.
What’s next: H.7‑10 was ordered for third reading in the Senate; the Department of Public Service must prepare the January 15, 2027 report on prime‑ag impacts and siting recommendations as directed by the accepted substitute.
Sources: Floor debate and committee reports as read into the record by the presiding officer and committee reporters, including direct remarks by the senator reporting for Natural Resources and the senator from Essex.
