Skip to main content

Utility-Scale Renewables

Achieving the DDPP scenarios to decarbonize the U.S. energy system will require a program of building onshore wind, offshore wind, utility-scale solar, and associated transmission that will exceed what has been done before in the United States by several times, every year out to 2050. These facilities, together with rooftop photovoltaics and other distributed generation (DG), are required to replace most fossil fuel generation and to help furnish the added electricity that will be needed as many uses currently employing fossil fuels (especially passenger transportation and space and water heating) are electrified. The chapter discusses the four most important legal processes and obstacles involved in this enormous project: site acquisition and approval; the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); state and local approvals; and species protection laws. It also presents recommendations for lowering the obstacles and briefly discusses several corollary actions that are needed.

Sub-topics

Filter by

119 resources

Model Law Congress

LPDD Model Law: Protected Avian Species Permitting

Electric infrastructure that is critical to achieving a net zero economy may impact federally protected avian species. To encourage construction of this infrastructure, project developers prefer certa...
Resource Congress

IRENA report, Nurturing Offshore Wind Markets

IRENA’s 2017 report, Nurturing Offshore Wind Markets, emphasizes international standardization of offshore wind regulation in order to harmonize requirements and enable global scale-up of offshore win...
Example States and State Governments

Michigan Legislation Consolidating Permitting Authority

Michigan’s HB 5120 would shift some power over clean-energy project siting and permitting from local government entities to the Michigan Public Service Commission. The bill would give the commission p...
Resource Congress

Energy Policy Act of 2005

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 provides a useful model for how Congress or states might overcome local governments obstructing the development of renewable energy facilities. Its provisions on the siti...
Example States and State Governments

Pennsylvania’s Permit Fast Track Executive Order

Pennsylvania’s Executive Order 2024-04 launched the Pennsylvania Permit Fast Track Program, which aims to offer a more unified permitting process across state agencies for complex energy, infrastructu...
Example States and State Governments

K&L Gates report, Offshore Wind Handbook

K&L Gates 2018 publication, Offshore Wind Handbook, includes brief summaries of recent offshore efforts in ten states, analysis of the legal framework under state authority and the Jones Act, and the ...
Resource Local Governments

Pace report, local model ordinances on wind permitting

The Pace Energy and Climate Center has published a suite of local model ordinances addressing the various siting and permitting requirements for wind energy.
Example States and State Governments

Renewables Built Through New York Power Authority

Under New York’s 2023 budget (see Part QQ), the New York Power Authority will have broad new ability to build renewables and can compete for state contracts subsidized by ratepayers. The legislation a...
Example States and State Governments

Connecticut’s Offshore Wind Portfolio

In June 2019, Connecticut lawmakers passed House Bill 7156 directing the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to solicit 2 GW of offshore wind capacity.
Resource Local Governments

Charlotte NC Green Power Procurement

In 2020, Charlotte NC approved a resolution to meet a quarter of its municipal building electricity needs with solar power. The unanimously approved agreement allows the state’s largest city to buy th...
Example States and State Governments

New Mexico’s HB 50 (2020)

New Mexico passed a March 2020 bill providing that transmission line projects qualify for industrial revenue bonds available through cities and municipalities, and supporting power lines that promote ...
Example States and State Governments

Washington State Siting Council

Approval by Washington’s state siting council explicitly “preempts the regulation and certification of the location, construction, and operational conditions of certification of the energy facilities”...
Model Law Congress

LPDD Model Law: Amending CZMA to Facilitate Offshore Renewables Permitting

This model document proposes potential amendments to the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to facilitate the permitting of offshore renewable energy facilities. The first part of the document provid...
Example States and State Governments

Massachusetts SMART Program

Massachusetts SMART (Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target) program includes an adder for up to 6 cents per kWh on a twenty-year contract for solar on farmland. See the tab “Compensation Rate Adders” i...
Resource Congress

The Inflation Reduction Act

New: The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and Environmental Defense Fund are announcing the launch of an additional resource on the Inflation Reduction Act Tracker website: the IRA litigation case ...
Example States and State Governments

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 Comm...
Example States and State Governments

Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council

Washington. In Washington, the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council has jurisdiction over all wind projects regardless of size. The local government (county and city) for a proposed project has a v...
Resource Local Governments

ELI report, Siting Wind Facilities on State Owned Lands and Waters

The Environmental Law Institute’s report, Siting Wind Facilities on State Owned Lands and Waters, addresses best practices in building renewables on state trust lands, state conservation lands, and st...
Resource Local Governments

APA report, “Planning for Wind Energy”

The American Planning Association’s Planning for Wind Energy provides an overview of the wind siting process, as well as a checklist for ordinances, elements of successful a utility-scale wind project...
Resource States and State Governments

AWEA fact sheet on bird turbine fatalities

The American Wind Energy Association has prepared a fact sheet showing that wind energy is responsible for less than 0.01% of human-caused bird fatalities.
Resource Congress

Telecommunications Act of 1996

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 provides a useful model for how Congress or states might overcome local governments obstructing the development of renewable energy facilities. It imposed constraint...
Example States and State Governments

New Jersey law promoting wind variances

State law makes it easier for wind project proponents to get variances from local zoning ordinances by nominating wind generation as an “inherently beneficial use.” This means that the variance will g...
Example States and State Governments

Wisconsin Public Service Commission

In Wisconsin, the Public Service Commission has exclusive jurisdiction over the siting of large electric generating facilities with nominal capacities over 100 MW. State certification preempts local r...
Resource Executive Branch

White House Ocean Climate Action Plan

In March 2023, the White House Ocean Policy Committee released an Ocean Climate Action Plan (OCAP). The plan sets three overall goals: creating a carbon-neutral future; accelerating nature-based solut...
Example States and State Governments

California AB525 (2021)

In September 2021, the California legislature passed a bill requiring the California Energy Commission (CEC) to develop a strategic plan to build 10,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2040, and 3,000 m...
Example States and State Governments

Texas Competitive Renewable Energy Zones

The Texas Public Utility Commission is responsible for designating “competitive renewable energy zones” and “develop[ing] a plan to construct transmission capacity necessary to deliver to electric cus...
Example States and State Governments

Oregon’s Bill Bypassing Local Permitting for Batteries

Among states seeking ways to consolidate permitting authority for energy infrastructure in the face of difficult local approval processes, Oregon passed a law in March 2024 allowing battery developers...
Example Local Governments

Michigan’s Model Zoning Guidelines for Large-Scale Wind Systems

Michigan State University has updated a series of model zoning guidelines for large-scale wind systems originally drafted by the state’s Energy Office. The guidelines are designed for rural applicatio...
Resource Executive Branch

NREL report: Solar Development on Contaminated and Disturbed Lands

NREL has prepared a 2013 report, Solar Development on Contaminated and Disturbed Lands, which examines the prospect of developing utility-scale solar power on degraded and environmentally contaminated...
Resource Executive Branch

FWS’s Land Based Wind Energy Guidelines

The Fish and Wildlife Service’s Land Based Wind Energy Guidelines (2012) breaks down how the Endangered Species Act’s requirements impact the siting of wind farms.
Model Law Congress

LPDD Model Law: Authorizing Joint Reviews Under NEPA and ESA

Environmental review and permitting of electric infrastructure—including renewable power generation facilities, electric transmission and distribution infrastructure, and electric storage facilities—i...
Example States and State Governments

Offshore Wind Multi-State Memorandum of Understanding

In October, 2023, the state agencies responsible for energy policy in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut signed a novel agreement to coordinate on offshore wind projects. The “Offshore Wind ...
Model Law Congress

LPDD Model Law: Evaluating Beneficial Impacts Under NEPA

Under current law, the potential benefits of projects necessary to achieve a decarbonized economy may not be fully disclosed in the NEPA process. NEPA is the process through which agencies consider th...
Example Local Governments

NYC’s operational standard for wind turbines

The Administrative Code of the City of New York enumerates operational standards for small and large wind turbines within the City, including design standards, maintenance, noise, and physical appeara...
Example States and State Governments

Maryland EO on Streamlining Permitting

In December 2024, Maryland’s governor signed an Executive Order establishing the Maryland Coordinated Permitting Review Council to facilitate interagency coordination and streamline permitting and env...
Example States and State Governments

SMART POWER

In October 2020, the governors of North Carolina, Maryland, and North Carolina signed a memorandum of understanding to form an interstate partnership to promote the development of offshore wind energy...
Example States and State Governments

California’s Renewable Highways Legislation

SB 49 (2023) orders the California Department of Transportation to ​“evaluate the suitability” of the land it owns alongside highway roadways, exits and interchanges for developing renewable energy, e...
Example Local Governments

Maine model ordinance for wind energy

Maine’s state planning office developed a detailed model ordinance for wind energy facilities, including definitions for different types of wind energy facilities based on output.
Resource States and State Governments

Biodiversity and Wind Siting Mapping Tool for New York

The Nature Conservancy has prepared a Biodiversity and Wind Siting Mapping Tool for New York to help protect biodiversity while advancing statewide energy development. The tool maps important ecologic...
Resource States and State Governments

National Conference of State Legislatures database of state statutes on wind facility siting

The National Conference of State Legislatures maintains a database of state statutes on wind facility siting with citations and brief summaries.
Resource States and State Governments

Report, Pollinator-Friendly Solar in Indiana

The EQ Research report, Pollinator-Friendly Solar in Indiana (2020), highlights the benefits of adopting policies that encourage pollinator-friendly practices at solar sites, and includes a model loca...
Example States and State Governments

South Carolina’s Solar Habitat Act (2018)

The legislation directs the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, working in conjunction with other state agencies and nonprofit conservation organizations to establish a native vegetation h...
Example States and State Governments

Illinois’ Pollinator-Friendly Solar Site Act (2018)

Illinois’ Pollinator-Friendly Solar Site Act (2018) required the Illinois Dept. of Natural resources to create a scorecard with consultation from the University of Illinois. Before an owner of a solar...
Resource States and State Governments

American Wind Wildlife Institute reports on turbine wildlife impacts

The American Wind Wildlife Institute was founded in 2008 by leaders from the wind industry and conservation and science organizations with the vision of achieving wind energy’s full conservation poten...
Resource States and State Governments

Report, State Pollinator-Friendly Solar Initiatives

The Clean Energy States Alliance’s 2020 report provides an overview of state efforts to encourage solar PV development in a manner that is beneficial to pollinators.
Example States and State Governments

California’s Solar Easements Statute

California. California has adopted a 2011 statute providing for solar easements on otherwise restricted agricultural lands that have “severely adverse soil conditions” or “significantly reduced agricu...
Resource States and State Governments

Massachusetts Proposed Act Driving Climate Policy Forward

In March, 2022, the Massachusetts Senate unveiled a sweeping climate bill aimed at helping the state meet its net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goal by 2050, which had been previously stipulated in 20...
Resource States and State Governments

Massachusetts’ Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind

In August 2022, Massachusetts enacted an “Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind,” which builds on 2019 legislation and helps clarify how the state will meet its climate targets. Key provisions of...
Example States and State Governments

Florida Proposed Floating Solar Arrays Legislation

Both houses on Florida have passed versions of a piece of legislation triggering work on plans to open many water bodies throughout the state to floating solar energy arrays. The legislation would dir...
Example States and State Governments

Maryland’s Solar Facilities Pollinator-Friendly Designation Act

Maryland’s SB 1158 (2017) charges the Maryland Department of Natural Resources with creating a pollinator friendly designation program,promulgating regulations and a scorecard. The scorecard must be r...
Example States and State Governments

Oregon’s Solar Highway Program

Oregon’s Department of Transportation (ODOT) has supported the development of two highway solar projects since 2008. These projects have been supported by policies and strategies adopted in the Oregon...
Example States and State Governments

Michigan’s Clean, Renewable, and Efficient Energy Act

Michigan’s 2008 Clean, Renewable, and Efficient Energy Act called for the mapping of “Wind Energy Resource Zones” where transmission lines would be subject to an expedited siting process.
Example States and State Governments

Minnesota’s Pollinator-Friendly Solar Act

The Pollinator Friendly Solar Act establishes native vegetation and habitat management practices for solar developers and local governments alike to maximize habitat creation for birds, pollinators, a...
Model Law Congress

LPDD Model Law: Exempting Renewables on Brownfields from CERCLA Liability

This model legislation provides liability protections under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for wind and solar energy developers on contaminated site...
Resource States and State Governments

Maine’s Wind Energy Act

Maine. Maine’s Wind Energy Act notes that “it is in the public interest to reduce the potential for controversy regarding siting of grid-scale wind energy development by expediting development,” and e...
Resource Executive Branch

Coordinated Interagency Transmission Authorizations and Permits (CITAP) Rule

In April 2024, the Dept. of Energy finalized the Coordinated Interagency Transmission Authorizations and Permits (CITAP) rule, which gives transmission developers a new option for a streamlined federa...
Resource States and State Governments

NY Wind Energy Guide: Birds and Bats

The New York State Energy Resource and Development Authority has produced a report on the impacts and regulation surrounding birds and bats takings from wind energy. It provides a brief overview of re...
Example States and State Governments

Massachusetts’ Clean Energy Grid Legislation

Massachusetts’ S.2967, An Act Promoting a Clean Energy Grid, Advancing Equity, and Protecting Ratepayers, reforms the siting and permitting of clean energy facilities, as well as the gas distribution ...
Resource Local Governments

NYSERDA reports, New York Solar Guidebook and Wind Energy Guidebook

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority has published a New York Solar Guidebook for Local Governments, which includes chapters on best practices in utilizing Special Use Permits ...
Example Executive Branch

RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative

The US EPA has established the RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative to encourage and facilitate the development of renewable energy on disturbed lands. EPA has developed an online mapping tool that h...
Model Law Congress

LPDD Model Law: CERCLA Liability Limitation for Renewable Energy and Carbon Capture

This model law would amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA” or “Superfund”), 42 U.S.C. § 9601-28, to limit liability for persons who own, operate, lea...
Resource Congress

Proposed Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act (2020)

Note: Elements of this proposed legislation overlap substantially with the LPDD Model Law, published Sept. 2020, Model Amendments to the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, which would require all sh...
Resource States and State Governments

Minnesota Energy Infrastructure Permitting Act

The Minnesota Energy Infrastructure Permitting Act, signed in May 2024, consolidates and reforms Minnesota’s review and permitting process for energy generation, storage, and transmission projects. Br...
Example Executive Branch

Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan

The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan designated multiple uses and protections for a 22.5-million acre portion of the California desert, including 388,000 acres for renewable energy developmen...
Example States and State Governments

New York’s Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefits Act

New York’s Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefits Act, passed as part of the State’s 2021 Budget, establishes an Office of Renewable Energy Siting, which will consolidate the envir...
Resource Local Governments

ELI report, State Enabling Legislation for Commercial-Scale Wind Power Siting and the Local Government Role

The Environmental Law Institute’s 2011 report, State Enabling Legislation for Commercial-Scale Wind Power Siting and the Local Government Role, addresses state and local responsibilities for siting wi...
Resource Local Governments

NARUC report, Wind Energy & Wind Park Siting and Zoning Best Practices and Guidance for States

NARUC’s 2012 report, Wind Energy & Wind Park Siting and Zoning Best Practices and Guidance for States, summarizes the wind energy siting and zoning practices in all 50 states and the District of Colum...
Example Executive Branch

FHWA Guidance on Rights of Way for Renewable Projects and Transmission

While states must coordinate their use of federal interstate rights of way with the Federal Highway Administration, that agency has already instructed states to put that land to use for “clean energy ...
Example States and State Governments

Michigan’s Farmland Open Space Preservation Program

Michigan’s Farmland Open Space Preservation Program allows landowners to enter into a developmental rights agreement with the State, under which they can receive certain tax benefits and not be subjec...
Resource Congress

Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act

The Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act has been introduced several times in Congress in recent years. It would open more federal land to renewable development, expedite environmental review...
Resource Executive Branch

White House Action Plan and Guidance Memo on Permitting

In May 2022, the White House released the Biden-Harris Permitting Action Plan, aiming to accelerate federal permitting of infrastructure projects. The Action Plan outlined five approaches, including c...
Example States and State Governments

Vermont’s Pollinator-friendly Solar Generation Standard

Vermont’s Pollinator-friendly Solar Generation Standard requires that solar developers claiming their solar site is beneficial to pollinators and birds are assessed to address specific planting and ma...
Resource Executive Branch

Western Solar Plan

The Bureau of Land Management’s Western Solar Plan categorized lands that are excluded from utility-scale solar energy development (about 79 million acres) and identified specific locations that are w...
Resource Local Governments

ELI report, State Enabling Legislation for Commercial-Scale Wind Power Siting and Local Government Role

The Environmental Law Institute’s 2011 report, State Enabling Legislation for Commercial-Scale Wind Power Siting and the Local Government Role, addresses state and local responsibilities for siting wi...
Resource Local Governments

Report, Examining the Potential for Agricultural Benefits from Pollinator Habitat at Solar Facilities in the United States

This 2018 report in Environmental Science and Technology identifies over 3,500 km2 of agricultural land near existing and planned US solar energy facilities that may benefit from increased pollination...
Resource Local Governments

Siting Renewable Generation: The Northeast Perspective

Energy Innovation LLC published an issue paper on siting renewables, particularly focusing on the land-constrained Northeast region, and proposed several recommendations for balancing local and state-...
Example States and State Governments

New York’s Pollinator-Friendly Solar Act (2018)

The legislation requires the New York Department of Environmental Conservation in association with others, to develop minimum guidelines for vegetation management plans used by those who make public c...
Example States and State Governments

Massachusetts Highway Renewable Energy Program

Massachusetts’ DOT (MassDOT) has developed a Highway Renewable Energy Program, which has sited 8 projects totaling 4.3 MW. MassDOT identified approximately 60 sites that could be used for solar power ...
Resource Public Utilities

BNL report, The Cost of Transmission for Wind Energy

Berkley National Laboratories’ report, The Cost of Transmission for Wind Energy, examines 40 transmission planning studies and draws some conclusions about the costs of expanding the transmission grid...
Example States and State Governments

New York’s Offshore Wind Portfolio

New York recently awarded contracts for 1.7 GW of offshore wind in response to a 2018 NYSERDA solicitation, pursuant to the state’s existing master plan to build 2.4 GW of offshore wind. These project...
Example States and State Governments

Illinois Ban on Local Renewable Bans

In January 2023, the Illinois Legislature passed H.B. 4412, setting requirements for utility-scale wind and solar projects, and barring local governments from having any rules that are more restrictiv...
Example States and State Governments

New York’s Article X

New York’s Article 10 of the Public Service Law gives the state’s “Siting Board considerable authority to override local laws that are ‘unreasonably burdensome,’ though that phrase has not yet been co...
Example Executive Branch

DOE’s Proposal to Exempt Solar, Storage, Transmission from Environmental Review

In November, 2023, the Department of Energy proposed to offer “categorical exclusions” from otherwise required environmental reviews for certain energy storage, solar and rebuilt or upgraded transmiss...
Resource States and State Governments

NWF issue brief on turbine impacts to bird species

The National Wildlife Federation has released an issue brief on wind power’s minimal impacts to bird species. The brief also acknowledges the potential for concern to some bat species, but notes that ...
Example States and State Governments

California Executive Order S-14-08

2008’s Executive Order S-14-08 aimed to expedite the permitting of renewable energy facilities by, among other things, creating a more coordinated permitting process for projects that must go through ...
Example States and State Governments

North Carolina EO on Offshore Wind

A June 2021 Executive Order from North Carolina’s Governor set the state’s first-ever offshore wind target, calling for as much as 8 gigawatts of wind to be built off the coast of the State by 2040. T...
Model Law Congress

LPDD Model Law: Enhancing ESA Consultation and Permitting Procedures

The model law below would provide for conducting joint regional reviews of renewable energy projects under both the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), in or...
Resource States and State Governments

Washington State’s Permitting Expedition Legislation

In May 2023, Washington State passed a law overhauling the permitting process for renewable energy projects. House Bill 1216 is intended to provide for up-front planning, early community and tribal in...
Example States and State Governments

California’s Offshore Wind Procurement Law

AB 1373 (2023) would allow the California Public Utilities Commission to authorize the California Department of Water Resources, which operates dams and aqueducts across the state, to sign contracts c...
Example Congress

Permitting Reform in 2023 Debt Ceiling Law

As part of negotiations around the 2023 debt ceiling increase, Congress adopted certain revisions to the permitting process for energy projects, including: Amending the National Environmental Policy A...
Example States and State Governments

Nevada’s enabling legislation for local planning authorities

Nevada’s enabling legislation for local planning authorities has special provisions to protect small wind projects. “Zoning regulations must be adopted in accordance with the master plan for land use ...
Model Law States and State Governments

LPDD Model Law: State Law Expediting the Siting of Utility-Scale Renewable Energy Generating Systems

This model state legislation aims to expedite and institutionalize uniform processes for siting facilities for generating, transporting and storing renewable energy. The model statute has two parallel...
Example States and State Governments

New Jersey’s Offshore Wind Portfolio

New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) announced in June 2019 the award of a contract for 1.1 GW of offshore wind. The announcement is in furtherance of the governor’s Executive Order 8, which...
Example States and State Governments

New Jersey A5434

In general, “dual-use” refers to agricultural production and electricity production from solar photovoltaic (PV) panels occurring together on the same piece of land. It is expected that in most cases ...
Example States and State Governments

Illinois Law restricting county-level siting restrictions over windpower

In May 2022, Illinois adopted siting legislation for commercial wind facilities that prevents counties from placing restrictions on the installation or use of a commercial wind energy facility, or fro...
Resource Executive Branch

Report, A Path Forward for FERC

The Institute for Policy Integrity’s 2020 report, A Path Forward for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, advises that FERC should take an active role in better aligning regulatory practices with...
Example States and State Governments

Massachusetts’ Offshore Wind Portfolio

In April 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved 20-year contracts for 800 MW of offshore wind at 8.9 cents/kWh. This announcement was accompanied in May 2019 by a study from t...
Resource Executive Branch

CERCLA Liability Reference Guide for Renewables Development

CERCLA makes anyone who assumes ownership or operation of a contaminated site potentially liable for its cleanup (42 USC 9607). EPA insists that it will ordinarily not take enforcement action against ...
Example Public Utilities

Xcel Energy Pollinator-Friendly Requirements

In 2018, Xcel Energy in Minnesota became the first utility in the U.S. to require developers that submit bids to build new solar facilities under competitive solicitations to disclose the proposed sol...
Resource States and State Governments

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Assessment of Offshore Wind Energy Resources for the United States

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has prepared a summary of offshore wind resource potential, based on map estimates for the contiguous United States and Hawaii.
Example States and State Governments

Maryland Offshore Wind Portfolio

2019’s Clean Energy Jobs Act increased Maryland’s offshore wind target to 1600 MW by 2030. Maryland’s Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013 permits wind project developers to receive financial support in t...
Resource Executive Branch

BOEM’s National Offshore Wind Strategy

BOEM’s 2016 National Offshore Wind Strategy assesses the economic, technological, and administrative environment for offshore wind development, and makes 35 different recommendations to different exec...
Example States and State Governments

Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council

The Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council is the one-stop forum that determines compliance with state standards for renewable electric power plants with an average electric generating capacity of thir...
Example Local Governments

Randolph County Pollinator-Friendly Solar Ordinance

Solar energy ordinance that includes a pollinator-friendly provision ahead of construction of Indiana’s largest solar farm. The new ordinance includes a land stewardship provision requiring the ground...
Example States and State Governments

Connecticut Siting Council

Approval by the Connecticut Siting Council does not automatically preempt local siting regulation, but there are statutory deadlines for local decision making and any aggrieved party may appeal a loca...
Model Law Congress

LPDD Model Law: Proposed Revisions to the MBTA and BGEPA for Permitting Renewable Energy

This model law proposes language to give the Fish and Wildlife Service explicit authority to grant incidental take permits for renewables and transmission lines under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and...
Example States and State Governments

Ohio Power Siting Board

The Ohio Power Siting Board has exclusive jurisdiction over the siting of all wind energy facilities over 5 MW. Clear statutory language preempts local ordinances from regulating the siting, construct...
Example Local Governments

Wisconsin Model Wind Zoning Ordinance

Wisconsin has prepared a model wind zoning ordinance for municipalities, including terms for setbacks, limits on shadow flicker, and requirements for construction and operation.
Resource Local Governments

TNC report, Accelerating Large-Scale Wind and Solar Energy in New York

The Nature Conservancy prepared a 2017 report, Accelerating Large-Scale Wind and Solar Energy in New York, which details recommendations for reforming the SEQRA process (NY’s NEPA), land use and plann...
Example Local Governments

Oregon’s Model Ordinance for Energy Projects

Oregon’s Model Ordinance for Energy Projects provides a guide for Oregon cities and counties on siting wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and cogeneration projects, electric power transmission and dist...
Example States and State Governments

Virginia Offshore Wind Portfolio

In November 2018, Virginia’s State Corporation Commission approved two 6 MW offshore wind turbines. The $300 million project will be funded through existing base rates. While the Commission opined tha...
Resource States and State Governments

Pollinator-Friendly Solar Scorecards

Fresh Energy maintains a database of states that have published pollinator-friendly solar scorecards, both through state law and otherwise, as well as their own state-neutral scorecard.
Resource Local Governments

Sabin Center’s Model Wind Siting Ordinance

Columbia University’s Sabin Center has produced a Model Wind Siting Ordinance, aimed at helping New York municipalities to enact a wind siting ordinance that encourages development while procedurally ...
Resource Local Governments

Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies report, Wind Power Siting, Incentives, and Wildlife Guidelines in the United States

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies prepared a report, Wind Power Siting, Incentives, and Wildlife Guidelines in the United States, which includes detailed summaries of nineteen states’ volu...
Resource States and State Governments

Colorado’s SB72 (2021)

Colorado SB72 creates the Colorado Electric Transmission Authority (CETA) and also requires state utilities to join an RTO by 2030, unless the PUC finds it is not in the public interest or cannot find...
Example States and State Governments

Virginia guidelines for local renewable energy ordinances

In March 2011, the Virginia legislature enacted broad guidelines for local ordinances for solar and wind, requiring that they must: be consistent with the Commonwealth Energy Policy; provide reasonabl...
Example Local Governments

North Carolina Model Ordinances for Wind Siting

North Carolina has developed a model ordinance for wind siting addressing six key protections: a) setbacks, b) noise, c) property value, d) environmental, e) escrow account, and f) decommissioning.
Example Local Governments

Linn County’s Pollinator Friendly Solar Development Standards

Linn County’s solar development standards under its zoning ordinances specify site requirements related to ground cover and buffer areas of solar projects that benefit pollinators. The standards requi...
Example States and State Governments

New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee

New Hampshire’s site evaluation committee is responsible for certifying wind energy facilities with capacities over 30 MW. The committee must find that the facility “will not unduly interfere with the...