Sponsored by:
Senator BOB SMITH
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
Senator JOHN F. MCKEON
District 27 (Essex and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Greenstein
SYNOPSIS
Requires end-of-life recycling of solar and photovoltaic energy generation facilities and structures.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee on June 20, 2024, with amendments.
An Act concerning recycling of solar and photovoltaic energy generation facilities and structures, and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The owner of a solar or photovoltaic energy generation facility or structure shall remove and recycle the facility or structure after the termination of its use, including any related equipment or infrastructure, in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to subsection b. of this section.
b. The department shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this section which shall include, but need not be limited to, minimum requirements for the removal and recycling of solar and photovoltaic energy generation facilities and structures. 1The rules and regulations shall require recyclers to securely store any toxic components of solar panels that cannot be safely recycled until a viable and safe method of recycling the components is approved by the department. The department shall engage in a public stakeholder process and consider similar end-of-life recycling requirements and programs from other states when it develops the rules and regulations, in order to facilitate compliance with the provisions of this section.1
c. Any person who violates the provisions of this section, or any rules or regulations adopted pursuant thereto, shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,000, to be collected in a civil action by a summary proceeding under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The Superior Court and the municipal court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999" pursuant to this subsection.
2. This act shall take effect on the 180th day next following the date of enactment, except that the Department of Environmental Protection may take any administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.