Columbia College researchers recognized 59 new renewable vitality restrictions in place throughout 35 US states, bringing the overall to 228. They famous that 9 state-level restrictions are adequate an excessive amount of to dam the initiatives.
From pv journal USA
Columbia Regulation College in New York launched its third annual roundup of anti-renewable vitality laws filed throughout the U.S. The report, Opposition to Renewable Power in the US – Might 2023 Version, goals to doc native and State restrictions on, and opposition to, the position of renewable vitality initiatives from 1995 to Might 2023.
The authors argue that “native opposition to renewable vitality amenities is widespread and rising, and represents a probably important impediment to attaining local weather objectives.”
The report highlights some notably difficult conditions together with:
- In Virginia, at the very least seven counties have adopted strict photo voltaic ordinances or moratoria between June 2022 and Might 2023 (Charlotte, Culpeper, Franklin, Halifax, Web page, Pittsylvania, and Shenandoah). For instance, Pittsylvania County presently prohibits the development of any photo voltaic farm inside 5 miles of some other photo voltaic farm and limits utility-scale photo voltaic initiatives to 2% of the overall acreage in any zoning district. Franklin County has imposed a countywide cap of 1,500 acres for all ground-mounted photo voltaic initiatives.
- Between April 2022 and March 2023, at the very least 11 Ohio counties have adopted binding resolutions to ban giant renewable vitality initiatives in all or giant parts of their unincorporated territories.
Within the newest model of the report, Columbia researchers recognized at least 228 native restrictions in 35 states. In addition they highlighted 9 state-level restrictions which might be so strict they may block a renewable vitality challenge, the authors mentioned. As well as, the group listed 293 renewable initiatives that face important opposition in 45 states.
The one states with out important restrictions or controversy, in response to the authors’ standards, are Alaska, Arizona, and Mississippi. For instance, Yuma, Arizona, thought-about one of many sunniest cities within the US, has a protracted historical past of energy corporations blocking the event of photo voltaic initiatives.
Many of the state-level restrictions give attention to wind vitality, with just a few immediately affecting photo voltaic. Two of those restrictions contain state our bodies in Connecticut and Maryland that should approve comparatively small photo voltaic initiatives. In New York, the state authorities controls the approval of enormous photo voltaic initiatives.
Earlier than March 2022, the group recognized 169 distinctive native renewable vitality restrictions. Since then, an extra 59 restrictions have been carried out, marking a 35% enhance. As well as, all year long, 82 initiatives encountered controversial roads throughout their respective zoning processes.
This era noticed a 39% enhance within the variety of initiatives dealing with ‘severe organized opposition’.
Coinciding with the sharp enhance in legal guidelines limiting renewables, is the truth that photo voltaic deployed a document 6.1 GW of capability in Q1 2023 is ready to deploy a document 30 GW of capability in 2023. And whereas it is true that ten initiatives have been rejected, 1000’s have been turned on.
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