The Southern Renewable Energy Association (SREA) on September 23, 2025, submitted revised comments on the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources (LDENR) proposed Rule on Regulation of Solar Power Generation Facilities, respectfully asking the Department to consider changes to make the program more streamlined and to avoid disruption of energy projects that are powering the state’s ongoing economic development efforts.
The comments were supportive of several clarifications that align with the statute and promote a practical permitting/decommissioning framework, while flagging two high-stakes issues that could hinder near-term solar development: potential permit-review delays and overly burdensome financial securities. The comments also push for explicit local-rule preemption and a clearer designation of the “Designated Operator.”
SREA supported the new language to help minimize duplicative and conflicting regulations across the state, clarification of the “Restoration” definition to include agreed-upon condition, the addition of Force Majeure Event and Construction definitions and a transferability provision, and clarification of the scope of public hearings.
“At the same time,” SREA General Counsel Blan Holman wrote, the regulations, “continue to present a limited number of very important issues that unless addressed could substantially disrupt, delay, and impair solar facility development in Louisiana.”
SREA’s letter focused on a variety of provisions but highlighted three as the most important. First, is the need to impose timing limits for reviewing and issuing permits so that the review process is not open ended. Second, SREA seeks changes to ensure that financial security posting for decommissioning reflects actual likely net costs that include material salvage value. Third, SREA requested an additional grace period so that projects that start construction within four months of the regulation becoming effective would have an extended period in which to obtain a permit.
Overall, SREA’s comments supported the Department’s efforts to date translating the statue into a regulatory framework that incorporates feedback and solves many of the issues seen in the first draft. As noted in the filed comments, SREA limited comments to remaining issues that are of major economic and regulatory significance for our membership which has created an environment that has changed substantially in the past six months to create “unprecedented urgency” in getting projects constructed and operating in the coming months and years.
“Since the cost of power - regardless of generation source - is ultimately borne by ratepayers, unnecessary or avoidable delays that increase generation project costs will raise prices for consumers at a time of pervasive inflationary pressures,” Holman wrote. “SREA’s recommended revisions are submitted in the spirit of reconciling the challenging statutory directives with the shared desire for an effective, efficient program that both encourages the development and use of solar energy and guarantees responsible facility decommissioning and site restoration.”
