New Jersey Solar Panel Recycling Act

[Second Reprint] SENATE, No. 3399 STATE OF NEW JERSEY 221st LEGISLATURE INTRODUCED JUNE 3, 2024 Sponsored by: Senator BOB SMITH District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset) Senator JOHN F. MCKEON District 27 (Essex and Passaic) Co-Sponsored by: Senator Greenstein SYNOPSIS Requires end-of-life recycling of solar and photovoltaic energy generation facilities and structures. CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT As reported by the Assembly Environment, Natural Resources, and Solid Waste Committee on December 4, 2025, with amendments. An Act concerning recycling of solar and photovoltaic energy generation facilities and structures, and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes. Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey: 1. a. 2 [ The ] Beginning 180 days after the finding by the Department of Environmental Protection made pursuant to subsection c. of this section has been published in the New Jersey Register and on the department's Internet website, the 2 owner 2 , producer, distributor, or manufacturer 2 of a solar or photovoltaic energy generation facility or structure shall remove and recycle 2 or refurbish 2 the facility or structure after the termination of its use, including any related equipment or infrastructure, in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the 2 [ Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to subsection b. of this section ] department 2 . b. 2 [ The ] Beginning 180 days after the finding by the department made pursuant to subsection c. of this section has published in the New Jersey Register and on the department's Internet website, the 2 department 2 [ shall ] may 2 adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this section which shall include, but need not be limited to, minimum requirements for the removal and recycling of solar and photovoltaic energy generation facilities and structures 2 and a fee schedule to cover the full costs incurred by the department to implement the provisions of this section 2 . 1 The rules and regulations 2 [ shall ] may 2 require recyclers to securely store any toxic components of solar panels that cannot be safely recycled until a viable and safe method of recycling the components is approved by the department. The department 2 [ shall ] may 2 engage in a public stakeholder process and consider 2 establishing a product stewardship program or 2 similar end-of-life recycling requirements and programs from other states when it develops the rules and regulations, in order to facilitate compliance with the provisions of this section. 1 c. 2 [ Any person who violates the provisions of this section, or any rules or regulations adopted pursuant thereto, shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,000, to be collected in a civil action by a summary proceeding under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The Superior Court and the municipal court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999" pursuant to this subsection ] The department shall frequently evaluate the availability and accessibility of recycling facilities for solar or photovoltaic energy generation facilities, or components thereof, within the State. Once the department determines that recycling facilities for solar or photovoltaic energy generation facilities, or components thereof, are widely accessible and available within the State, the department shall publish that finding in the New Jersey Register and on the department's Internet website no more than 30 days after making the finding. d. A violation of the provisions of this section shall be considered a violation of the "Solid Waste Management Act," P.L.1970, c.39 (C.13:1E-1 et seq.), as amended and supplemented, and the commissioner shall have recourse to any of the actions or penalties provided for in section 9 of P.L.1970, c.39 (C 13:1E-9), in order to address the violation 2 . 2. This act shall take effect 2 [ on the 180th day next following the date of enactment, except that the Department of Environmental Protection may take any administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act ] immediately 2 .