(a) An owner with a nameplate capacity of one megawatt or larger shall provide the County with financial assurance of the owner’s ability to pay the actual and necessary cost to decommission the wind energy system before commencing major civil construction activities.

(b) An owner shall provide the County with 3 estimates of the actual and necessary cost to decommission the wind energy system. The cost estimates shall be prepared by third parties agreeable to the owner and the County. The amount of financial assurance required by the County will be the average of the 3 estimates.

(c) An owner shall establish financial assurance that is acceptable to the County and that places the County in a secured position. The financial assurance must provide that the secured funds may only be used for decommissioning the wind energy system until such time as the County determines that the wind energy system has been decommissioned, as provided for in PSC 128.19(5)(b), or the County approves the release of the funds, whichever occurs first. The financial assurance must also provide that the County may access the funds for the purpose of decommissioning the wind energy system if the owner does not decommission the system when decommissioning is required.

(d) The County may periodically request information from the owner regarding industry costs for decommissioning the wind energy system. If the County finds that the future anticipated cost to decommission the wind energy system is at least 10 percent more or less than the amount of financial assurance provided under this section, the County may correspondingly increase or decrease the amount of financial assurance required.

(e) The County may require an owner to submit a substitute financial insurance of the owner’s choosing if an event occurs that raises material concern regarding the viability of the existing financial assurance. [Code § 12.18.3-10.]