U.S. Proposes Deep Fee Reductions For Wind, Solar On Federal Land

"A new regulation will formalize a roughly 80% cut in project fees for wind and solar energy developments on federal lands under a proposal by the Biden administration on Thursday as part of a strategy to boost renewable energy to fight climate change.

The Interior Department's U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) last year had lowered rent fees and lease rates for solar and wind by about 50%, using departmental authority, after developers complained they were too high to draw investment.

Thursday's proposal from the Interior Department would deepen those fee reductions and enshrine the changes in a formal regulation - making them harder to reverse under a future political administration.

President Joe Biden wants to decarbonize the U.S. electricity sector by 2035, a goal that will require rapid deployment of large amounts of wind and solar energy. The BLM manages one in every 10 acres of land in the United States and Interior has a congressional mandate to permit 25 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy on federal lands by 2025."

Nichola Groom reports for Reuters June 15, 2023.

Source: Reuters, 06/16/2023