Permitting

Construction of wind turbine

The U.S. Has Billions for Wind and Solar Projects. Good Luck Plugging Them In.

An explosion in proposed clean energy ventures has overwhelmed the system for connecting new power sources to homes and businesses.

The energy transition poised for takeoff in the United States amid record investment in wind, solar and other low-carbon technologies is facing a serious obstacle: [….]

The surprising key to a clean energy future

The surprising key to a clean energy future

By Bill Gates

My first job, in high school, was writing software for the entity that controls the power grid in the Northwest … something many people never thought about back then.

That’s no longer the case. Extreme weather events have made people aware of power grids—and how they can fail….
We need to upgrade our grid, build more high-voltage transmission lines [,,,]

Permitting: America’s next big climate conundrum 

Permitting: America’s next big climate conundrum 

The vast majority of newly-installed and planned energy projects in the U.S. consist of clean energy – solar and wind farms. But clean energy projects are getting stuck in “interconnection queues,” and some clean energy projects have been canceled owing to lengthy delays. Factors like an onerous permitting process could dramatically hamper America’s clean energy rollout and thus its ability to cut pollution fast enough to meet the country’s Paris commitments. 

High tension, long distance electricity transmission lines

America’s Clean Energy Transition Needs Permitting Reform

While the clean energy transition appears unstoppable, the speed with which it occurs is uncertain. Fully implementing the IRA is key to transitioning fast enough. But fully realizing the IRA’s benefits takes too long. And sometimes, it’s impossible. That is, unless we overcome local permitting barriers.