Renewables Developers Get Sweaty Palms Across America

1. Barnstable County, Massachusetts – The SouthCoast offshore wind project will now be delayed for at least four years, developer Ocean Winds said on Friday, confirming my previous reporting that projects Biden seemed to fully approve were still at risk from Trump.

• Biden’s Interior Department had said in December the SouthCoast project was “approved.” But according to this federal permitting data clearinghouse, the project still needs clearances from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as well as the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers. We previously reported the Army Corps of Engineers had all but frozen wetlands permitting for wind projects. Jury’s out on whether that has changed.

2. Albany County, New York – A judge in this county has cast a cloud over tax abatement calculations for essentially all solar and wind projects in the state.

• In a ruling this week, Albany Supreme Court judge Joshua Farrell ruled the implementation of a recent state law giving tax incentives to solar and wind developers was unconstitutional. In his opinion, Farrell wrote the state legislature had exceeded its powers and failed to sufficiently define how renewable energy credits, or RECs, and investment tax credits should be used.
  
• This will create incredible uncertainty for developers across the state, according to an analysis of the ruling published yesterday by law firm Hodgkins Russ. Their takeaway? It’s likely New York Attorney General Letiticia James appeals the ruling and considers it stayed until the appeal can be processed, but this will hardly provide comfort to industry, which is already reeling from the Trump effect.
  
• “On the merits,” the law firm stated, “the decision creates continued uncertainty over how to value and assess renewable energy projects. Now, there is increased risk and exposure to both renewable energy developers, who may have higher assessments and higher real property taxes for their projects, and local taxing jurisdictions who will be forced to expend legal fees defending assessment challenges.”

3. Greene County, North Carolina – No more new solar farms here, at least for now.

• This county enacted a moratorium this week on new solar farm permits for two years pending the completion of a solar zoning ordinance. It’s a quick step-change from when county officials approved a special use permit for a NextEra last month. Then again, the backlash to that project was so loud it forced the county to issue a public statement telling residents it had no involvement itself in the project or solicit its construction.

4. Logan County, Ohio – Sayonara, Grange Solar.

• Open Road Renewables has canceled the Grange Solar agrivoltaics project amid local opposition and a recent recommendation from staff on the Ohio Power Siting Board to reject crucial permits.

5. Fannin County, Texas – The battery backlash we’ve warned you is on the horizon has spread to the small town of Savoy, north of Dallas, where residents are protesting en masse against an Engie battery storage project under construction.

• Like elsewhere in Texas, it’s unclear there’s any way for the project to be stopped by local opposition. But I anticipate that as more cases of Texas battery fights make headlines, it carries the risk of state legislation or other forms of policy response from Texas regulators.