Many states, localities and companies have ambitious sustainability goals that include targets for reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 or earlier. Achieving net-zero objectives requires expanding availability of renewable energy at the very moment that economic growth and electrification are driving the overall demand for electricity ever higher.
While growth in solar and wind generation is encouraging, early progress is tempered by significant challenges. Renewable technologies have progressed, but transmission and storage complexities need to be addressed to continue the growth trend. Even more significant is the fact that reaching statewide clean energy mandates is dependent on local permitting structures and politics. A nationwide analysis by USA Today in February 2024 found that at least 15% of U.S. counties had placed outright bans, moratoriums, construction restrictions and other conditions that make it impossible to build renewable projects in those areas. Connecticut, Tennessee and Vermont have implemented near statewide restrictions on solar and wind development. What were once viewed as “good projects” are no longer good enough in many places.
Anyone who has tried to site any type of major development – from a retail complex to a housing development to a landfill – will tell you that gaining the needed zoning approvals and permits to start construction is an expensive and arduous process. Years are spent on land acquisition, engineering studies and creating an application that might be a thousand pages in length. It is made even more risky by the reality that gaining the necessary local approvals often does not depend on the need for or quality of the project. Organized opposition, NIMBY attitudes, misinformed citizens and the personal agendas of some officials can scuttle a “good project.” Local politics are a frustrating reality that developers have come to expect.
The permitting review process is critical to ensure that local needs and preferences are addressed. And while a no vote on a development project that appears to meet key local requirements is disappointing, unfair local roadblocks that halt renewable energy projects essential to addressing the global climate crisis have much more far-reaching consequences. In some jurisdictions it can take five to six years to gain approval for a renewable energy project before a developer can start construction. That pace is much too slow to meet renewable energy goals. Not only do the delays stand in the way of meeting net-zero objectives, the roadblocks also serve to keep older fossil fuel generation online long after high emissions plants could be decommissioned. Instead of comparing the merits of a solar or wind proposal, in some places the process has devolved into a quasi-ban.
Officials in some states recognize the need to act, pointing to the fact that 2023 was the warmest year in recorded history, leading to stronger and more frequent hurricanes and other damaging weather events, along with drought conditions in some areas and increased risk of large wildfires.
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy maintains a comprehensive list of state renewable energy siting regulations. Many states have already enacted various types of reform. Local communities must have a voice in the permitting process. Having a level playing field that results in early community input, approvals of “good projects” can be streamlined. At the same time, rejection of bad projects should also happen more quickly. This serves the public good on many levels and will declutter municipal government calendars. Moreover, reforms can help protect landowner rights to find the best and highest use for their properties, while also bringing much needed economic development to communities that have previously been passed over.
California, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and New York have already taken action to reform the siting process and remove some of the major permitting bottlenecks.
California: In 2022 California passed a law giving the California Energy Commission (CEC) authority over solar, onshore wind and thermal energy facilities with a generating capacity of at least 50 megawatts (MW). The legislation including oversight of energy storage projects of least 200 megawatt hours (MWh) and electric transmission lines connecting these generation or storage projects to the grid, as well as large manufacturing plants that assemble wind, solar or storage systems. The law mandates CEC determine if an application is complete within 30 days and then make a ruling on completed applications within 270 days.
Illinois: In 2023 a law took effect in Illinois establishing statewide siting, zoning and setback standards for wind and solar projects capable of generating at least 0.5 MW of electricity for wholesale or retail sale. The law keeps local counties from imposing renewable energy project moratoriums and standardizes the approval process, including setting deadlines for holding public hearings and making a ruling on applications.
Michigan: In 2023, PA 233 was passed giving siting authority to the Michigan Public Services Commission for solar facilities of 50 MW or greater, wind projects of 100 MW or great and storage facilities with a discharge capability of 200MWh or more. The law protects landowners from eminent domain claims related to renewable projects and enables local public comment. A group called Citizens for Local Choice attempted to place a ballot initiative before voters in November to overturn the law, but failed to gather enough petition signatures.
Minnesota: In 2024, the Minnesota Energy Infrastructure Permitting Reform Act became law. It is designed to shorten the length of time of permitting processes for renewable generation and transmission projects. The law removes certificates of need requirements for high-voltage transmission lines with capacities between 200 kilovolts (kV) and 300 kV of less than 10 miles in length inside the state and 100 kV if the lines cross state lines, along with wind projects of 5 MW or more, solar projects of 50 MW or more and storage projects of 10 MWh or more.
New York: The Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth & Community Benefits Act became law in 2021 and established the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES). Utility-scale renewable energy projects of 25 MW or more are now required to seek approval through ORES. Project applications to ORES must be acted upon within a year, with projects located at previous commercial and industrial sites acted upon within six months. ORES must consider local laws in reviewing applications and there is a 60-day public comment period. In addition to negotiated PILOT and HCA agreements, residents in host communities also receive credit on their utility bills for the first 10 years that the renewable project is in operation.
More state legislatures are likely to bring up siting reform bills to facilitate progress towards reaching net-zero emissions. The need for this reform is real. There are 3,144 counties in the country. A USA Today analysis found that more than 1,000 had solar farms and that 33 gigawatts of solar energy came online in 2023. When it comes to wind, 508 counties had at least one operational wind turbine last year. At the same time, approximately 470 counties have placed significant restrictions on renewable energy generation, storage and transmission.
While expanding green energy generation will enable states to meet climate action goals, these projects are also drivers for local economies, providing jobs, tax revenues and host community benefits. For many landowners, the leases help them to keep property in their families for the next generation, preserve future farmland use that could be lost to other types of development, and provide resources they need to pursue other agricultural and non-farm businesses.
Tackling reform now is critical because the gap between where we are on renewable generation and where we need to be is significant. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that by 2025 12% of the nation’s electricity will come from wind power and 7% from utility-scale solar. This needs to grow to a combined 60% to 80%, and get added to nuclear and hydro, to achieve net-zero goals. This kind of growth simply won’t happen if localities are able to place unfair restrictions on “good projects.”