#energy permitting

[rjzimmerman]

Carrots, sticks or both: State efforts to combat anti-renewables NIMBYs

In pursuit of zero-emissions electricity goals and tax windfalls from utility-scale renewables, states are taking a range of approaches to d

Excerpt from this story from Utility Dive:

tility-scale renewables development has ground to a halt in at least 15% of U.S. counties due to a combination of bans, moratoriums, and overly strict zoning and land-use restrictions, according to a February analysis by USA Today.

Lawmakers in Michigan, New York, Illinois and other states with 100% carbon-free electricity goals are pushing back with policies that centralize renewables permitting at the state level, provide financial incentives for more permissive local ordinances, or both. Though initiatives like Michigan’s Renewables Ready Communities Award program are too new to have had an observable impact, the early success of two New York programs is heartening for advocates of community-oriented approaches that include tangible financial benefits for municipalities and utility customers.

“There is no question that these packages help [developers] gain public support,” said Dan Spitzer, who co-leads New York-based law firm Hodgson Russ’s cleantech and renewable energy practice.

Such efforts could accelerate onshore wind and solar development, keeping state and federal governments on track to reach their clean electricity goals in the short term. But experts worry that the backlash to state policies perceived as unfair by host communities could entrench local opposition to utility-scale renewables, spur litigation and ultimately slow the energy transition. The most effective state policies, they say, incentivize constructive local participation in siting and permitting processes and nudge developers to treat host communities fairly while limiting opportunities for opponents to delay or kill mutually beneficial projects.

“Ørsted favors working directly with local governments, but the local units often need or ask for a common framework to guide development in addition to incentives offered by states,” said Hayes Framme, head of new markets and growth for Ørsted, which has a 3-GW onshore wind portfolio and nearly 700 MW of utility-scale solar and energy storage under construction.

[rjzimmerman]

Lawmakers near deal on energy permitting in debt ceiling talks

Lawmakers are nearing an agreement on overhauling the permitting process for energy projects as part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling.

Excerpt from this story from the Washington Post:

Lawmakers are nearing a modest deal on overhauling the nation’s permitting process for energy projects as part of legislation to raise the debt ceiling and avert an unprecedented default, according to two people close to the deliberations.

The emerging deal would ease the process of building the interstate transmission lines needed to carry clean electricity across the country — a top priority for Democrats and a boon for President Biden’s climate agenda, said the two individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private negotiations.

To sweeten the deal for Republicans, the agreement would make modest changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, a 1970 law that requires the federal government to analyze the environmental impact of its proposed actions. GOP lawmakers have long blamed the bedrock environmental law for the years-long delays that plague new highways, pipelines and other infrastructure projects nationwide.

The people close to the talks cautioned that lawmakers have not agreed to any final deal on energy permitting and that the contours of the emerging agreement could change in the fast-moving discussions.

The transmission proposal would be based on forthcoming legislation from Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) known as the Building Integrated Grids With Inter-Regional Energy Supply (Big Wires) Act. The measure seeks to encourage the construction of transmission lines by requiring regions to transfer at least 30 percent of their peak electricity demand between each other, according to a one-page summary obtained by The Washington Post.

The bill could help the United States reach Biden’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. To meet that target, energy experts say, the country needs to build more transmission lines to deliver clean electricity from far-flung wind and solar farms to urban centers.

Republicans made the initial push for permitting to be included in the debt ceiling bill, with the goal of including a permitting proposal from Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), a top GOP negotiator. But the emerging deal would include only incremental changes sought by Graves and other Republicans, who have championed the expansion of pipelines and other fossil fuel projects.

[rjzimmerman]

Chamber of Commerce leads letter urging permitting reform action this year

A coalition of influential lobbying groups called on Congress to act on the energy permitting reforms championed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) by the end of the summer in a letter Monday.

Excerpt from this story from The Hill:

A coalition of influential lobbying groups called on Congress to act on the energy permitting reforms championed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) by the end of the summer in a letter Monday.

While the letter is led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the oil and renewable energy industries are also represented in the letter, with the American Petroleum Institute and the Solar Energy Industries Association among the signers.

The letter calls the current permitting system “the single biggest obstacle” to infrastructure buildouts in the U.S. It does not endorse a specific piece of legislation, but instead calls for reforms that improve transparency, predictability, efficiency and input from stakeholders.

Manchin in 2022 lent his support to the Inflation Reduction Act in exchange for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) guarantee to bring legislation to the floor streamlining the permitting process for new energy projects. Although the reforms would also apply to renewable energy projects, green groups vocally opposed the measure, citing its likely impact on fossil fuel development. Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, are wary of giving the West Virginia Democrat a policy one as he faces what is likely to be a tough re-election fight in 2024.

Last September, however, after initially attaching reform measures to a must-pass government funding bill, Manchin removed the language amid bipartisan opposition. Manchin’s Republican colleague, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), introduced a separate permitting reform bill the same month.

[iguanastevens]