Battery storage systems can operate for many years. At some point, though, operators must remove old batteries and other equipment. This raises key questions for Texas landowners. Who handles the cleanup? What happens to hazardous materials? Who pays to restore the land? Texas law now addresses these issues for certain battery storage agreements.
The operator handles dismantling
For covered agreements, Texas law gives the facility operator several cleanup duties. After a project shuts down, the operator must remove batteries, transformers and substations from the property.
Some work may also take place below ground. The operator generally must remove foundations and buried cables to a depth of at least three feet. It must also fill holes with the same or similar soil and remove overhead lines it owns.
Some materials can be recycled
Not every part of an old battery facility needs to go to a landfill. When practical, the operator must reuse or recycle materials or send them somewhere that can do so.
The operator must take materials that cannot be reused or recycled to a proper disposal site. If the law treats any waste as hazardous, the operator must send it to a facility allowed to handle those materials.
Landowners can request restoration
Removing the equipment may not leave the property ready for use. Texas law allows landowners to request certain steps to restore their land.
Depending on the situation, the operator may need to remove roads it built or clear large rocks uncovered during construction. It may also need to return suitable land to a condition where farming can resume or reseed damaged pasture. A landowner generally has 180 days after receiving the required notice about a permanent shutdown or decommissioning to request certain restoration work.
Financial assurance helps cover cleanup
Closing a battery project can cost a lot of money. Texas law requires covered agreements to include financial assurance for the operator’s cleanup duties. The amount generally considers the expected costs of removing equipment, handling waste and restoring the land. It may also account for the value of materials that the operator can recover.
An independent professional engineer licensed in Texas must calculate the estimated costs of removal, recycling, disposal, and land restoration, net of any salvage value. The operator must deliver this estimate to the landowner by the 10th anniversary of commercial operations and post the required financial assurance by the earlier of the lease termination date or the 15th anniversary of operation.
Planning for the end of a project
Texas law makes cleanup planning an important part of covered battery storage agreements. Addressing equipment removal, waste, land restoration and costs early can help both sides understand their duties when the project eventually closes.