Energy

HB 2156 changes setback requirements for utility-scale solar energy facilities and industrial battery storage projects in Oklahoma. The bill reduces the minimum required distance between these facilities and adjacent properties from 500 feet to 300 feet. This directly affects property owners near proposed solar farms or battery storage sites, as well as developers planning such projects. The key provision is the specific reduction in the setback distance, which is the core policy change. The bill is currently in the legislative process, having advanced through committee and received a second reading.

SB 469 modifies eligibility requirements for Oklahoma's Emission Reduction Technology Rebate Program, which provides up to 25% rebates for businesses implementing qualifying emission-reduction projects within the state. The bill clarifies submission deadlines (requiring documentation within six months after fiscal year-end completion) and adds a preliminary review process for applications before project funding is spent. It also specifies that applicants must have filed all required Oklahoma tax returns and maintain $1 million general liability insurance with workers' compensation coverage. The changes apply to businesses seeking rebates administered by the Department of Environmental Quality and Oklahoma Tax Commission, using funds from dedicated revolving funds. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025.

HB 2751 proposes setback requirements for wind energy towers in Oklahoma counties with specific population density (>8.5 people/sq mile) or low wind speed (<9.5 mph). It requires towers to be placed at least 2.5 times their tip height or 1/4 mile from nearby properties, whichever is greater, and allows counties to vote to waive this requirement via referendum every five years. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission must maintain a public database tracking which counties have active setback rules. The bill failed in the Energy Committee on April 24, 2025, and remains pending. This would directly affect property owners and wind energy developers in designated counties.

HB 1220 prohibits Oklahoma cities and towns from imposing franchise fees or sales/use taxes on specific revenue streams used by utilities to repay private financing. It directly affects electric cooperatives and other utilities that used private financing under the February 2021 Utility Consumer Protection Acts to avoid immediate cost burdens on customers. The bill defines "securitization revenue streams" as rates and charges solely for repaying such private loans, and bans local taxes on these streams for bonds issued by the Oklahoma Development Finance Authority under those acts. This prevents municipalities from taxing revenue dedicated to repaying utility loans structured to protect consumers from upfront costs.

SB 1003 requires Oklahoma's Corporation Commission to create rules ensuring electricity grid affordability and reliability. It mandates that the grid maintain 115% guaranteed power capacity (sufficient backup power) to prevent outages, requires new wind/solar projects to include backup power costs in their total expense calculations, and directs the Commission to select new power sources based on the lowest total cost to ratepayers. These rules directly affect electric utilities and the Corporation Commission, with specific requirements including preventing premature retirement of existing power plants unless cost-effective and ensuring power sources meet continuous operating needs during extreme weather. The bill aims to prevent power shortages through measurable reliability standards, effective November 1, 2025.

SB 131 requires Oklahoma electric utilities planning to retire coal-fired power plants to prioritize replacing them with advanced nuclear reactors (including small modular reactors). Utilities must submit a cost study and written justification to the Corporation Commission if they choose alternatives to nuclear, and the Commission must approve or disapprove replacement plans. The bill also mandates that any entity building a nuclear plant must construct a secondary facility within the same zip code to store spent nuclear fuel and submit detailed applications to the Department of Environmental Quality. These provisions aim to guide the transition from coal to nuclear energy while establishing regulatory requirements for new nuclear construction. The bill becomes effective November 1, 2025.