The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is suggesting a quicker way to approve certain solar, storage, and transmission projects on federal land. This move comes as the industry faces challenges due to slow approvals and crowded queues for connecting to the power grid.
The proposed changes aim to make the DOE’s environmental compliance process more efficient. They introduce a “categorical exclusion” for specific energy storage systems and adjust the rules for upgrading transmission lines and installing solar panels. These changes aim to eliminate the need for detailed environmental assessments for some types of projects.
The DOE wants a streamlined process for energy storage for systems like batteries and flywheels but excludes technologies like compressed air and thermal storage due to potential environmental impacts.
According to the proposed rules, a faster review would be granted if you’re building, running, upgrading, or decommissioning a battery or flywheel energy storage system in an already disturbed or developed area.
Unlike the 2011 plan, the DOE now suggests removing the 10 MW limit for energy storage projects, emphasizing that size isn’t a reliable measure of environmental impact.
The proposal also suggests easing the rules for upgrading existing power lines and removing restrictions on their length. It offers options like relocating within existing paths or already disturbed lands. The DOE aims to be clearer about moving power lines, allowing small segments to be relocated within existing paths or disturbed lands.
For solar projects, the DOE suggests changing “removal” to “decommissioning” and removing the size limit for proposed projects. The DOE believes that the size of the project doesn’t reliably indicate its impact on the environment.
These proposed changes are part of the DOE’s plan to tackle the backlog of solar, wind, and storage projects awaiting approval. The surge in interest in clean energy has created delays, uncertainties, and extra costs for everyone involved.
Earlier this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) made rules to speed up connecting new clean energy projects to the grid. The goal is to prioritize ready-to-go projects, making the grid connection process more efficient and fairer for solar, wind, and battery projects.
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