TODD SNITCHLER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ELECTRIC POWER SUPPLY ASSOCIATION (EPSA)
A new report from Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center finds that at least 228 local laws, ordinances, and policies have been enacted in 35 states to restrict renewable energy projects. Ohio is one of the most ambitious, with development of large projects essentially forbidden in 13 counties. Across the nation, 293 projects have come under fire. It is a sobering finding when you consider what plans for our electric grid look like.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been taking aggressive action to force coal and gas plants to retire or curtail production.
Independent, non-partisan grid operators in the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic and elsewhere have warned that they are facing looming energy supply shortages over the next decade. Shortfalls like that could mean rolling blackouts, skyrocketing prices, and serious economic and even public health consequences for households and businesses.
A vast buildout of onshore wind, solar, battery storage, and offshore wind is supposed to fill this gap. But that expansion is facing many of the same obstacles that fossil fuel and nuclear resources have been facing for decades: not-in-my-back-yard (NIMBY) activists, hyperlocal environmental groups, and complex layers of state, city, and county rules …
Read more at RealClearEnergy.org.
