ATLANTA – Legislation that would require installers of solar panels on property leased from a landowner to return the land to its natural state cleared a Georgia House committee Wednesday.
But a second bill pertaining to solar panels installed in communities governed by homeowners’ associations ran into pushback from members of the House Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications Committee.
Solar panels have been cropping up on farms across Georgia in recent years. House Bill 249 would require that solar panels be removed from properties upon the termination of the operator’s lease and that any holes in the ground left by solar panels be filled with the same type of soil found elsewhere on the property.
The measure also requires the removal of any overhead powerlines or roads constructed in conjunction with solar panels.
“When these solar facilities get to the end of their life and become obsolete, there (needs to be) somebody standing there with some money to put them back in the original state,” said Rep. Robert Dickey, R-Musella, chairman of the House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee and the bill’s chief sponsor.
While Dickey’s bill won the committee’s support, a second measure to prohibit homeowners’ associations from preventing property owners from installing solar panels drew concerns from members of the panel.
Rep. Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta, said the General Assembly shouldn’t interfere in private agreements between homeowners’ associations and property owners living in those communities.
“If you don’t like the agreement, don’t buy a home in a neighborhood that says you can’t have solar,” he said.
Rep. Trey Kelley, R-Cedartown, said he’s concerned that a property owner denied permission to install a solar panel could sue his or her homeowners’ association, resulting in litigation costs that could be spread to everyone in the neighborhood.
But Rep. Eric Bell, D-Jonesboro, chief sponsor of House Bill 389, said Georgians who invest their life savings in buying a home should have the right to install solar panels if they choose to do so.
Committee Chairman Don Parsons, R-Marietta, announced he would set the bill aside until next year to allow further work on it. Meanwhile, Dickey’s bill heads next to the House Rules Committee to schedule a floor vote.