2025 Louisiana Legislative Session: House Bill Proposed to Regulate Solar Facilities

House Bill No. 615 has been proposed in the 2025 Louisiana Legislative Session that would provide for the regulation of solar facilities.

HB 615 would establish notice, permitting, and siting requirements for solar power generation facilities with a footprint of 10 acres or more.

The authority for such regulation is provided to the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources (“Department”), which would have the ability to promulgate rules to implement the legislation.

Requirements include:

• Authorizes parish governing authorities to enact and enforce regulations more strictly than permitting and siting requirements.
• Requires notice to parish governments, legislators, and adjoining property owners prior to the submission of a permit application.
• Requires a public meeting prior to the issuance of a permit.
• Requires a permit from the Department to operate a solar power generation facility with a footprint of 10 acres or more.
• Exempts facilities located in industrial zoned areas and on Louisiana Economic Development certified sites from obtaining the letters of clearance from the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
• Establishes siting requirements for facilities over 10 acres that are not on certified sites or in industrial zones.
• Allows residential property owners and facilities to agree to use a compensation model provided by the proposed legislation instead of complying with the setback requirement.
• Provides a limit for noise levels at the property line of the facility.
• Provides a process for parishes to obtain a waiver from siting requirements from the House and Senate natural resources committees.
• Specifically authorizes local government to regulate certain aspects of the facility.
• Provides a default process in the absence of local regulation of such topics.
• Prohibits Chemical spraying to maintain facility sites, unless approved by the Commissioner of Agriculture and the appropriate parish governing authority.
• Requires a permit, financial security, and a decommissioning plan for the use of battery of other electrical storage for renewable energy.
• Establishes a program within the Department of Energy and Natural Resources for research and development in solar energy and the technology of siting facilities.

A copy of HB 615 can be downloaded here.