AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5; Title 6; Title 7, Chapter 51 and Title 65, Chapter 17, relative to utility facilities.
SB 132 expands Tennessee’s utility facility siting framework beyond wind energy to include solar energy facilities and solar energy facility expansions. The bill revises numerous definitions and cross-references in Title 65, Chapter 17 so that the chapter applies to “utility facilities,” which now includes wind energy facilities, solar energy facilities, and related expansions. It also defines “solar energy facility,” “solar energy facility expansion,” and clarifies that small solar installations under 5 MW and residential rooftop or dwelling-connected solar equipment are generally excluded.
The bill sets out siting and permitting rules for solar facilities similar to those already used for wind projects, including local legislative body authority to adopt conditions, permit general boundaries, and impose design conditions. It establishes setback requirements for wind turbines and solar arrays from non-participating landowners’ property lines, allows waivers by affected landowners, and requires risk assessment and mitigation recommendations for hazards such as shadow flicker, turbine fires, structural failure, ice throw, arc flashes, electric shock, and thermal burns. It also requires decommissioning or removal of wind turbines or solar arrays that stop generating electricity for 180 continuous days, subject to extensions, and preserves existing noise-related decommissioning rules for wind projects.
The bill would materially broaden and update Tennessee’s utility facility siting statutes by bringing solar energy projects into the same regulatory chapter that previously focused on wind energy. It would affect local governments, developers, landowners, and state agencies involved in permitting and siting, while preserving local authority in jurisdictions that had already adopted solar siting regulations by July 1, 2025, and exempting solar facilities built before that date. The measure also changes setback, decommissioning, and planning requirements for covered facilities and clarifies that the chapter does not expand or alter utility facility siting regulation outside Title 65, Chapter 17.
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so the bill’s sentiment can only be inferred from its text. The measure appears generally supportive of expanding and standardizing siting rules for renewable energy development, especially solar, while also addressing local control and landowner protections. The absence of recorded opposition in the provided materials suggests no documented controversy in the available record, but the bill’s structure indicates an attempt to balance development interests with local regulation and neighbor impacts.
The main points of potential contention are likely to be local control, landowner setbacks, and the scope of state preemption. Local governments may view the bill’s default statewide framework as limiting their discretion, although the bill preserves authority for jurisdictions that already adopted solar siting rules by the specified date. Developers may focus on the setback requirements, decommissioning triggers, and design conditions as added compliance burdens, while non-participating landowners may support the setback and waiver provisions as protections against nearby wind and solar infrastructure. The bill also creates a distinction between preexisting solar facilities and future projects, which could raise questions about unequal treatment or grandfathering.