Establishing Utility-Scale Solar Projects: Federal Involvement

Valkyrie Buffa, Lindsay Rich and Arthur G. Fraas
Additional contact information
Arthur G. Fraas: Resources for the Future

No 21-11, RFF Working Paper Series from Resources for the Future

Abstract: Decarbonizing the electric utility sector will require a substantial investment in renewable energy projects. [1] This case study examines the federal permitting process for utility-scale solar projects sited on federal, state, tribal, and private lands to identify the possible barriers associated with achieving federal and state renewable energy goals. Section 2 provides an overview of utility-scale solar projects covered by the study. Section 3 details the permitting processes governing federal funding, siting, and permitting processes for utility-scale solar projects covered by this case study, with a focus on the time required to obtain a permit. Section 4 summarizes our findings and concludes the paper.[1] States have assumed a key role to date in promoting the development of renewable energy facilities to replace fossil fuels in the electricity sector. Individual states have established Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPSs) requiring that a certain percentage of electricity sold to customers within that state must be produced by renewable sources. Thirty-one states, Washington, DC, and three territories have adopted RPSs, while seven states and one territory have set renewable energy goals (Shields 2021).To read the working paper, click "Download" above.

Date: 2021-05-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene, nep-env and nep-pke
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.rff.org/documents/2946/WP_21-11_Solar_Federal_Process.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-21-11

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in RFF Working Paper Series from Resources for the Future Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Resources for the Future ().