U.S. DOE Reduces Regulatory Hurdles For Photo voltaic, Vitality Storage, & Transmission Tasks

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Revisions to DOE’s Environmental Evaluate Rule Will Minimize Prices and Delays for Key Grid Resilience and Clear Vitality Tasks

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Division of Vitality (DOE) is amending DOE’s record of classes of tasks which, as a result of they usually should not have important environmental impacts, qualify for the best type of environmental overview underneath the Nationwide Environmental Coverage Act (NEPA). DOE is simplifying the environmental overview course of for sure vitality storage programs akin to battery programs, transmission line upgrades, and photo voltaic photovoltaic programs. In assist of the Biden-Harris Administration’s purpose to advertise the event of fresh vitality and supporting infrastructure, DOE is taking these steps to cut back the price and time for environmental evaluation incurred by DOE, venture builders, and the general public for these tasks.

DOE primarily based the proposed adjustments on years of expertise evaluating the environmental impacts of a majority of these tasks via analysis, conducting environmental evaluations, and interesting with trade, native communities, and different authorities companies. DOE fastidiously thought-about its expertise with vitality storage, transmission line upgrades, and photo voltaic vitality tasks earlier than simplifying the environmental overview course of. Underneath the adjustments, DOE will proceed to look carefully at every proposed venture whereas having the ability to full its environmental overview duties in a quicker and cheaper method.

Vitality Storage Programs

Vitality storage programs can be utilized to combine renewable vitality into the electrical grid, to assist technology services function at optimum ranges, present safety from energy interruptions, and scale back reliance on much less environment friendly sources of technology that might in any other case run solely at peak instances. The adjustments DOE is asserting at this time promote the event of those storage programs by simplifying the environmental overview course of for constructing, working, upgrading, or decommissioning battery or flywheel vitality storage programs inside or close to areas which have already been developed.

Transmission Line Upgrades

DOE acknowledges that upgrading and rebuilding transmission traces can prolong their helpful life, scale back the necessity for brand spanking new energy traces, and replace the Nation’s energy grid with newer, extra environment friendly, and extra resilient know-how. The revisions to DOE’s class for transmission line upgrades will capitalize on these benefits, which might improve transmission capability, enhance transmission effectivity, improve vitality resilience, keep away from or scale back antagonistic environmental impacts, and scale back price to customers. DOE’s adjustments take away present limitations on the size of present powerlines which can be eligible for the best type of NEPA overview, give builders the choice to relocate inside land already allotted to or developed for his or her energy line, and require that upgrades or rebuilds of the road incorporate finest practices to guard the native atmosphere.

Photo voltaic Photovoltaic Programs

DOE’s adjustments improve the scale of photo voltaic tasks that qualify for the best environmental evaluations underneath NEPA.

Extra info is obtainable at /nepa/doe-nepa-categorical-exclusion-rulemaking-2024.

Information merchandise from U.S. DOE.