California’s Law Superseding Local Permitting Obstacles for Renewable Energy Projects (AB 205, 2022)
California’s AB 205 (2022), among other provisions, establishes a new permitting procedure that supersedes local approvals for large renewable energy projects, which runs through the State Energy Commission. The law establishes a new certification process for a solar photovoltaic, wind, or thermal powerplants, as well as certain appurtenant transmission and related manufacturing facilities. The new certification process is explicitly in lieu of any permit, certificate, or similar document required by a state, local, or regional agency, or federal agency, to the extent permitted by federal law, for those facilities. That is, the law effectively sidesteps local permitting obstacles.
The provisions of this legislation are applicable for applicants filing before July 2029.
Applicable facilities, more specifically, include solar photovoltaic, terrestrial wind, and thermal powerplants that do not use fossil or nuclear fuels, with a generating capacity of 50 MW or more; energy storage systems capable of storing 200 MWh or more of electricity; an electric transmission line from those generating or storage facilities to a point of junction with an interconnected electrical transmission system; and facilities for the manufacture, production, or assembly of energy storage systems or their components, wind systems or their components, solar photovoltaic systems or their components, or specialized products, components, or systems that are integral to renewable energy or energy storage technologies with a capital investment of at least $250M over a period of 5 years.
In deference to local authorities, the legislation does require the Energy Commission to forward applications to a local government having land use and related jurisdiction in the areas of the proposed site and related facility and would require the local agencies to review the application and submit comments on the application, as provided. The legislation further authorizes local agencies to request a fee from the Energy Commission to reimburse the local agency for the actual and added costs of the review by the local agency.
AB 205 is excerpted to these relevant provisions in the document below, and a link to the full legislation as well as some press coverage of its other provisions is provided as well.