Taking Wartime Mobilization Seriously: Utility-Scale Renewable Energy [Article]

Abstract

State environmental laws such as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) have historically focused on the conservation and preservation of environmental conditions. This paradigm prioritizes issues such as pollution, land management, and resource sustainability. However, most jurisdictions which have sought to address climate change have expanded their clean energy production capacity through new physical infrastructure. Since this expansion consumes land and water resources and creates other environmental side-effects, it often produces conflicts between historical environmental conservation and preservation mandates and the urgent imperative to expand carbon-free energy generating capacity in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). California has in the past created exemptions from certain review requirements in CEQA for socially beneficial projects and streamlined the review process for renewable energy generating facilities. This work proposes that California go further and create exemptions from CEQA review requirements for Utility-Scale Renewable Energy Projects (USREPs) in order to prevent vexatious litigation and promote renewable energy development. These exemptions should be modeled on the exemptions created for certain environmentally friendly housing and transit projects and should ensure that sufficient classical environmental safety criteria are still satisfied. While this work focuses specifically on California, its suggestions for regulatory reform are generally applicable to all states with an interest in developing thriving renewable energy sectors and mitigating the effects of climate change.