At the June conference in DC, Ben and Jenn noted that solar projects are the most-litigated energy infrastructure projects (in this session, I believe), and so incorporating judicial reform into a clean energy permitting reform bill could benefit clean energy deployment by making sure that lawsuits have to meet certain standards. Some folks have asked where that statistic originates from.
It comes from this 2023 paper by Stanford researchers. They found,
using a data set of 355 major transportation and energy infrastructure projects that completed a federal environmental study between 2010 and 2018. We observe predevelopment litigation on 28% of the projects requiring an environmental impact statement, 89% of which involve a claim of a NEPA violation. The highest litigation rate is in solar energy projects, nearly two-thirds [64%] of which are litigated. Other high-litigation sectors include pipelines (50%), transmission lines (31%), and wind energy projects (38%).
Interestingly, solar and wind projects tend to get permitted quickly (unlike electrical transmission projects), but they also face very high rates of litigation, which can hold up and kill projects after the permit has been issued.Â
This paper from the Bipartisan Policy Center explores some potentially constructive judicial reforms that could be included in a comprehensive clean energy permitting reform package.
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