US renewables industry seeks 'Herculean effort' from Biden to open federal lands

As U.S. President Joe Biden heads into his second year in the Oval Office, renewable energy developers look to his administration to fill a critical gap in its ambitions for decarbonizing the power sector and combating climate change.

"We can't get from where we are today to that type of deployment with the status quo on permitting on federal lands," Tom Vinson, vice president of federal regulatory affairs at the American Clean Power Association, or ACP, said in an interview. "And that's true for generation and transmission."

Unlocking the vast potential of renewable energy resources on federal lands — much of which is in U.S. Bureau of Land Management jurisdiction in the West — "will require a Herculean effort on the part of the administration and industry," Vinson said. "But I think the Biden administration intends to achieve it, and I think they are sending the right signals."

Those signals include the bureau's auctions in December 2021 for utility-scale solar leases in three designated development zones in Arizona that could result in up to 825 MW and greenlighting another 1,000 MW of solar in California. Also in December 2021, the agency sought public input on draft rules it released to facilitate more wind and solar development by reducing rental rates for public acreage and capacity fees.

The actions are aimed at helping to meet a target set by the Energy Act of 2020 to permit 25 GW of renewables on public land by 2025 in a way that still takes into consideration input from conservation groups, tribes and other stakeholders.

That goal is obtainable, according to Vinson, but much more is required to attract the ACP's members, including many of the largest renewable energy companies in the U.S.

"The overarching challenge, which predates the Biden administration by multiple administrations, is that development on federal lands ... is more complex, costly and takes longer than developing on private lands," Vinson said.

In one example of those challenges, the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe and the Center for Biological Diversity sued the Bureau of Land Management in December 2021 over its approval of Ormat Technologies Inc.'s Dixie Meadows geothermal energy project in Nevada. The plaintiffs in the case said the project could dry up nearby springs and harm the rare Dixie Valley toad.

Transmission development is another hurdle. Most proposed renewable projects on federal lands need long-distance transmission lines to connect them to customers in more populated areas. Permitting for those power lines can take up to a decade or more and often involve disputes with private landowners, as well as state and county officials.

Biden recently signed infrastructure legislation into law that could allow the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to override states that block proposed transmission lines. But some former FERC members have said the reforms may still not avoid challenges at the federal level to those projects.

"[National Environmental Policy Act] requirements make development on public lands much slower than on private land," said Rob Gramlich, founder and president of Grid Strategies LLC, a consulting firm focused on integrating clean energy into the electric grid. "Most transmission developers perceive strong interest from Biden administration leadership to enable faster processing, but there are a lot of regulatory details to sort out, and that takes time."

Priorities and progress

The ACP's top priorities for making progress on federal lands in 2022 are expanding Bureau of Land Management resources so that the agency has more capacity to review proposals for development, as well as extending opportunities to build projects outside of designated development zones. In addition, the trade group is participating in the bureau's proceeding to reduce fees and is urging to Biden administration to facilitate transmission planning and permitting to access more renewables on federal lands.

Through Dec. 9, the Bureau of Land Management had approved 3,240 MW of onshore renewable energy in 2021, including projects by NextEra Energy Inc. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary NV Energy Inc.

In addition, the bureau is processing 49 utility-scale onshore clean energy projects proposed on public lands in the Western U.S. with the potential to add over 24 GW of renewable energy. The vast majority of those projects, 36, are for solar energy facilities.

The bureau is also conducting preliminary reviews of another 64 applications for solar and wind power development. Such deployment "is crucial in achieving the Biden administration's goal of a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035," the bureau said.

"As the climate crisis continues to impact our communities and our economic well-being, we are working to increase renewable energy production on public lands and waters," Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning said in a Dec. 9 email. "At every step of the way, the [Interior] Department will undertake these goals with broad engagement, including outdoor enthusiasts, sovereign Tribal nations, states, territories, local officials, agricultural and forest landowners, environmental justice advocates, and others to identify strategies and goals that reflect the priorities of all communities."

Upbeat about offshore opportunities

Vinson and other renewable energy industry representatives are more enthusiastic about the Biden administration's efforts on offshore wind in federal waters.

"I think it's fair to say that the Biden administration has done more to make offshore wind a reality and build a domestic offshore wind industry than any prior administration," Vinson said.

In March 2021, the White House set a goal of adding 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has expanded project development on the East Coast, where early opportunities are focused, as well as in the Gulf of Mexico and deeper waters of the Pacific Ocean.

In California, where development of offshore wind stagnated during the Trump administration, National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy joined Gov. Gavin Newsom in May to announce an agreement to advance up to 4.6 GW of offshore wind off the Golden State's northern and central coasts.

"It was a huge year of progress for offshore wind in California, and the Biden administration deserves a lot of credit for getting things moving, and so do the state agencies," Adam Stern, executive director of Offshore Wind California, said in an interview. The industry group is targeting the development of 3 GW of offshore wind in California by 2030 and at least 10 GW by 2040.

"The Biden-Harris Administration has shown bold leadership to confront the climate crisis and launch offshore wind power as a critical clean energy solution," said Alison Chase, senior policy analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council's ocean team.

Chase urged protections for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, given a steep drop in the species' population. The Natural Resources Defense Council said all offshore wind projects should be required to have adequate noise reduction, a limit on project vessel speeds, and extensive monitoring for right whales and other protected species to identify any potential detrimental impacts from construction.

"Responsible development of offshore wind energy that avoids, minimizes, mitigates and monitors impacts to wildlife, coastal and marine habitats, cultural resources, and other ocean uses is what will ensure this new industry's success over the long term," Chase said.