Renewable energy advocates and developers speaking to a House Natural Resources subcommittee April 30 criticized federal regulations, including the National Environmental Policy Act, for standing in the way of solar, wind, and geothermal developers on public lands.
Solar energy development on federal lands in the U.S. is subject to a “painfully long public bureaucracy” and uncertainty that limits private capital for new solar power projects, Jim Lamon, CEO of Depcom Power Inc., a Scottsdale, Ariz., solar power developer, told the subcommittee.
“There are over 100 additional steps for developing projects on public lands,” Lamon said.
Most solar and wind ...