Relating to the inclusion of certain provisions in lease agreements for wind or solar power facilities.

Contracts

Immediate Redlining Required: Your standard Master Lease Agreements (MLAs) and Option Agreements must be updated to include:

• Mandatory Recycling Covenant: A clause obligating the Grantee to collect and recycle all facility components (specifically wind turbine blades and PV modules) that are "practicably capable" of being reused or recycled.
• Disposal Hierarchy: A clause stipulating that non-recyclable components must be cleared and delivered to an authorized solid waste or hazardous waste facility.
• Battery Inclusion: Ensure these terms apply to any "battery energy storage facility" associated with the project, as the definition of "facility" has been expanded.

Hiring/Training

• External Engineering Requirement: You can no longer use internal teams to calculate decommissioning costs for landowner reporting. You must retain an independent Professional Engineer (PE) licensed in Texas.
• Procurement: Operations teams must identify and vet recycling vendors now to establish the "practicability" of recycling for future cost estimates.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Wind Facilities: You must deliver an updated decommissioning cost estimate (prepared by the independent PE) to the landowner at least once every five years for the remainder of the lease.
• Solar Facilities: You must deliver the independent PE estimate on or before the 10th anniversary of commercial operations, and every five years thereafter.
• Financial Assurance True-Up: If the PE’s estimate indicates that removal/recycling costs have increased or salvage values have decreased, you must increase the posted security to match the new net cost.

Fees & Costs

• Increased Bonding: Financial assurance models must now include the cost of recycling and disposal. Since recycling wind blades is currently more expensive than landfilling, expect your required bond amounts to rise significantly.
• Administrative Costs: Budget for recurring third-party PE fees every five years per project.