Renewable developers may have to pivot more toward states for support: panelists

Renewable energy developers should start shifting more of their strategies and attention toward state governments and local communities for support and less toward the federal government to advance their projects, panel speakers said Aug. 19.

The future of renewable energy growth in the US was a hot topic during the Infocast Midcontinent Energy Summit in Indianapolis. The discussions are especially timely as the Trump administration continues focusing on boosting fossil fuel-fired power generation while pivoting away from the renewable-friendly policies of the Biden administration.

The budget reconciliation bill signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4 significantly curtailed clean energy tax credits contained in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Then, in response to a Trump executive order, the Treasury Department issued guidance Aug. 15 that tightened the rules that govern how renewable projects will be able to qualify for tax credits, a move that many clean energy advocates fear will slow the growth of wind and solar energy in the US.

Navigating in an uncertain climate with a federal government that is increasingly unfriendly toward renewables means renewable developers should pivot more toward states and communities where they retain considerable support for their resources, said Temujin Roach, senior director of transmission policy for developer EDF Renewables.

"I think, to some extent, that you're going to have to step back from the feds as much as you can and step back from the executive branch as much as you can and try to figure out what you can do with the states and find states that are still interested and still going to work with you on adding renewables," Roach said during a panel discussion on developer strategies. "And I think, to some extent, to make it through this administration, we're going to have to ... find [allies] wherever we can."

These states in the Midwest region are generally understood to be Democratic-leaning states with established clean energy goals such as Illinois and Minnesota. Roach, however, said those states could include others like Ohio, which is at the opposite end of the political spectrum.

"Ohio is a great place for us," Roach said. "We've got one of our larger solar plants there. Some counties [will] say no. But other counties, you can develop that relationship, and you can go ahead and work through that."

Challenges and opportunities

Ruchi Singh, vice president of interconnection and transmission for Brookfield Renewable affiliate Urban Grid, said surging demand growth in the US provides a strong incentive for both developers and states to work in tandem, especially considering how much quicker renewable resources can come online as opposed to new thermal generation plants.

"I do think that the clean energy industry has to survive, and there's a lot of demand, right? And we need supply," Singh said after a panel about the outlook for transmission planning. "I do think that there is only so much we [developers] can control at the federal level, but there has to be a lot more effort, certainly on the state level, in working with the regulators and the policymakers in the states to see if we can have an environment that's conducive for the renewable energy or clean energy for that matter to progress."

Vish Sankaran, ENGIE's head of interconnection for North America, said renewable developers should factor in the consideration that federal energy policies have to the potential for volatility in a two-party country.

"Every four years, there's a 50-50 chance that you have an administration that either supports [renewables] or is in a position to oppose it," Sankaran said during the discussion on developer strategies. "If you're in a position where an administration changes and new policies are coming through and we're in a fight for our lives, then you have to re-think, 'Are we really running a company or are we actually trying to survive.' Because that mentality, it's more prevalent now than where I think we benefited quite a bit quite a bit the last several years. And now there's challenges. But to me, I see those challenges where there's options that we can grasp."

Singh said the challenge for the renewable industry is to get its technologies aligned with government policies, including at the state level.

"There are opportunities," Singh added. "Of course, having that federal [tax] incentive was really good. But I think the industry will survive. It's just that we have to pivot. We have to figure out how do we navigate in this evolving new world."