US Counties Are Blocking the Future of Renewable Energy: These Maps, Graphics Show How

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February 11, 2024

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by Elizabeth Weise, Stephen J. Beard, Suhail Bhat, Ramon Padilla, Carlie Procell, Karina Zaiets (USA TODAY) Across America, local bans, moratoriums and construction impediments are blocking wind and solar energy with increasing levels of red tape. ... The U.S. has set a goal to reach 100% clean energy by 2035, but a nationwide analysis by USA TODAY shows that achieving it is increasingly unlikely – local governments are banning green power faster than they’re building it.

At least 15% of counties in the U.S. have effectively halted new utility-scale wind, solar, or both, USA TODAY found. These are not the solar panels you might have on your house but installations significant enough to replace power plants, each one powering tens of thousands of homes.

The limits come in the form of outright bans, moratoriums, construction impediments and other conditions that make green energy difficult to build.

The opposition to renewable energy isn't as simple as left vs. right. There’s no one group fighting renewables. Instead, there are many, with a range of objections. But the overall result is rapidly increasing the limits on clean energy.

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Sixty percent of the country's energy comes from fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. To get close to 100% carbon-free energy, which includes nuclear and hydroelectric power, utility-scale solar and wind electricity production must ramp up significantly.

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While 183 counties got their first commercial wind-power project in the past decade, nearly 375 counties blocked new wind development in the same period.

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Even counties that have never had wind projects (but are near counties that have) are more likely to block new projects.

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When it comes to wind, one common requirement involves the height of a turbine and its distance from adjacent property lines.

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Another impediment involves noise limits. In the 2010s, common concerns about wind turbines included health impacts from a swishing noise made by the blades. While these fears have been discounted by research, decibel limits remain.

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The National Renewable Energy Laboratory calculated the U.S. would require just 10,424 square miles to accommodate the necessary wind and solar farms. READ MORE

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Excerpt from North American Clean Energy: According to a recent survey from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, community opposition is now among the top reasons for delays and cancellations of wind and solar projects. Survey respondents noted that in their experience a third of the projects were canceled because of community opposition, and half were delayed six months or more.

“Community opposition has become a significant obstacle to renewable energy development,” shares Learnewable Founder and President, Jeremy Solomon, “even though surveys show that substantial majorities support renewable energy development. People want to understand what impact a renewable energy project is going to have on their daily lives. Social acceptance is essential for projects to be completed.”

And the stakes are high. The Berkeley Lab survey revealed sunk costs due to cancellations averaged $2 million per solar project and $7.5 million per wind project. When reviewing why projects were canceled, survey respondents recognized they should have involved communities earlier.

“Developers need a clear picture of community sentiment so they can address community concerns and communicate in a more effective way,” Solomon continues. “Having the ability to assess public sentiment in a data-oriented, quantitative manner to is now a necessity for successful renewable energy development.” READ MORE

Excerpt from Bloomberg: The Pew report, titled How Americans View National, Local and Personal Energy Choices, also shows tempered interest in EVs, with surveyed respondents showing reluctance to embrace initiatives aimed at phasing out gas-powered vehicles. Three in 10 Americans would consider buying an EV. The survey also showed 83% of Republicans oppose rules to expand EV sales compared to 35% of Democrats.

Automakers have been pulling back big bets on EVs as consumers recoil from pricey plug-in cars. Ford Motor Co. is cutting EV spending by $12 billion and delaying new battery-powered models and factories, while market leader Tesla Inc. has slashed EV prices and seen profit margins shrink READ MORE

Excerpt from U.S. Energy Information Administration:

As wind generation capacity has grown in the Midwest of the United States, grid operators have increasingly restricted wind generation because of both oversupply and congestion on the grid.

Grid operators in the areas overseen by the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) and Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) curtailed an hourly average of 800 megawatts (MW) of wind generation in the Midwest last year, compared with less than 200 MW in 2019. Curtailment is when electricity generation is deliberately reduced below its maximum generation potential. Wind generation increased by 42% between 2019 and 2023 and makes up a substantial proportion of the energy mix in the Midwest. Hourly average Midwest wind curtailments decreased last year from a 2022 record of almost 1,000 MW because of less generation brought on by slower-than-normal wind speeds. Grid operators also made changes in 2023 to how they planned for congestion and oversupply.

Curtailments can be necessary for grid operators to balance supply and demand. Curtailments occur either when generation exceeds electricity demand (oversupply) or when insufficient transfer capacity is available to transmit electricity over its preferred path to meet demand (congestion). Wind is curtailed before other resources in the Midwest because:

It is cheaper and faster to both shut down and restart wind (and solar) plants than other types of generation.
On very windy days in particular locations, transmission capacity is often insufficient to receive the large amount of wind power generated. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico's Power Shift: Chuck Schumer. The Senate majority leader recently told me (Kelsey Brugger) that he would “like to get permitting reform done” this Congress. But objections from three Energy Committee Democrats — including Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) — and major environmental groups could prevent him from holding a Senate vote.

Wyden — a key architect of the climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act — objected to the bill’s fossil fuel provisions, including new requirements that the Interior Department lease land that the industry has nominated for oil and gas development.

Senate Republicans, too, have some complaints. For one, they objected on grounds of states rights. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) argued that corporations could run roughshod over farmland to build out power lines. Others said red-state electricity consumers could end up fronting the costs for the climate targets of neighboring blue states.

All those concerns could dissipate, given the support from Barrasso, a partisan who’s running uncontested for GOP whip.

The Republican-controlled House poses other threats. GOP lawmakers have objected to transmission legislation, which many continue to see as climate-y and a boon only for solar and wind energy projects.

However that could be changing: As electricity demand soars nationwide, there’s an effort by center-right groups like the R Street Institute to inform Republicans that transmission is merely about spreading electrons, regardless of fuel source.

Biden hesitation?
The White House, previously supportive of permitting legislation to unlock IRA potential, has been silent about this latest Manchin-Barrasso push.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, are eager to run on clean energy development and jobs in swing states. But they may hesitate to support the bill due to objections from environmentalists who argue that the legislation would be a boon to natural gas export projects and further marginalize minority and low-income communities long burdened by pollution.

The political calculations could change during the lame-duck session after the November election. If Democrats lose the White House, they would be eager to take what they can get to fortify the nation’s grid and green-light renewables. Republicans too might be keen to take a deal with clear oil and gas perks. READ MORE

Excerpt from Frederick News Post: During a tense, four-hour community meeting hosted by Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater at Oakdale High School on Wednesday, representatives from PSEG said the company is “a little less than 10 days away” from releasing a preferred route for the project.

Fitzwater said on Wednesday that representatives of PJM were invited, but declined to participate in the community meeting.

In a letter to Fitzwater, PJM’s Senior Vice President of Governmental and Member Services Asim Haque wrote that, “While I can appreciate your positioning on MPRP, PJM is simply not staffed to attend each public hearing or meeting that is requested of us. For MPRP, those requests have been numerous.”

“While PJM is not able to attend your meeting,” Haque continued, “please be aware that PJM followed its federally approved process in selecting the MPRP project, holding a series of open meetings over most of 2023 to analyze, study, and discuss the grid’s regional transmission needs and the drivers behind them.”

PJM has previously said that the project is necessitated by the deactivation of 11,000 megawatts of power generation across its grid, combined with a projected increase in energy demand over the coming years.

In a January press release on its 2024 Load Forecast Report, PJM said the increase in demand for power is “increasingly driven by the development of data centers throughout the PJM footprint, combined with the accelerating electrification of transportation and industry.”

Finalizing a routeJim Gilroy, the manager of state affairs for PSEG, said the first notifications of the company’s preferred route would be mailed to impacted property owners.

Only after the company knows that all letters have been received will the route be made public, Gilroy said.

PSEG will then hold one public meeting each in Frederick, Carroll and Baltimore counties, through which the MPRP would run regardless of which proposed alignment is chosen. The meetings will take place in November.

Local officials including Fitzwater, the Frederick County Council and the state delegation for Frederick County have opposed each of the proposed MPRP alignments in comments to the Maryland Public Service Commission.

The PSC will ultimately be tasked with granting or choosing not to grant PSEG a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) for the project.

PSEG has said it plans to apply for a CPCN by the end of 2024. There will be additional opportunities for public comment once the company’s application has been submitted.

Jason Kalwa, the director of the project, said PSEG plans to start approaching property owners in the path of its preferred route “very soon” to negotiate the acquisition of rights-of-way, stating that the company did not need to wait for the approval of the PSC.

In response to a question about how much money PSEG has budgeted for the acquisition of rights-of-way, Kalwa said he was “not prepared to discuss that,” but the amount would be allocated based on the preferred route. The entire project budget is $424 million.

“Regardless of what that budget is, we will negotiate directly with property owners,” Kalwa said. “I will tell you if the market value says a certain amount, that’s the floor for what we’re willing to pay.”

Only after obtaining the PSC’s approval would PSEG be considered a public utility with the ability to acquire rights-of-way through eminent domain, Gilroy said on Wednesday, adding that the company considers such takings a “last option.”

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Comments from residents

Several of those who spoke at the meeting on Wednesday said they would refuse any offer from PSEG to acquire rights-of-way on their properties and encouraged others to do the same.

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Lisa Gaver of Gaver Farm near New Market told the PSEG representatives that any appraisal of her property would not capture the financial impact of having power lines running over her agritourism operation.

“We’ve put 40 years into building up our farm and our reputation,” Gaver said. “Many of our customers are engaged, and they have told us specifically that this would be detrimental to their choice to visit our farm. ... I want you to tell me how you rectify that.”

Other audience members questioned whether any of their feedback would make a difference to PSEG in determining the final route for the project. READ MORE