While federal policy can have a significant impact on renewable energy development, local policy—and local sentiment—can be just as consequential. Between 2018-2023, at least 30% of utility-scale wind and solar projects were cancelled during the siting process, largely because of community opposition, local ordinances, and zoning. For the last five […]
Matthew Eisenson
19 posts
This post is part of a new Climate Law Blog series, 100 Days of Trump 2.0, in which the Sabin Center offers reflections on the first hundred days of President Trump’s second term across a variety of climate-related topics. To read other posts from the series, click here. President Trump […]
Over the last five years, several states, including New York (2020), California (2022), Illinois (2023), and Michigan (2023) have adopted comprehensive permitting reforms that curtail the power of local governments to block development of large-scale renewable energy projects. In two states, New York and Michigan, local governments have sued to […]
Over the last 10 years, dozens of townships in Michigan have effectively halted renewable energy development by adopting severe zoning restrictions, such as moratoriums. Many of these local restrictions, however, may become moot after November 29, 2024, when a new state law that reforms the siting process for large-scale wind, […]
Over the past few years, opponents of offshore wind energy have filed at least 15 lawsuits against 5 projects in federal court. One tactic that plaintiffs in these lawsuits sometimes use is to move for a preliminary injunction to halt construction until the court reaches a final decision on the […]
Local opposition has proven to be a significant barrier to the rapid expansion of renewable energy facilities across the United States. A new edition of the Sabin Center’s Opposition to Renewable Energy Facilities in the United States report identifies 378 renewable energy projects across 47 states that have encountered significant opposition. […]
Achieving the United States’ ambitious emissions reduction goals depends in large part on the rapid adoption of wind and solar energy and the electrification of consumer vehicles. However, misinformation and coordinated disinformation about renewable energy is widespread and threatens to undermine public support for the transition. In a new report, […]
On March 21, 2024, state regulators in Ohio approved the Oak Run Solar Project, an 800-megawatt (MW) solar generation project that will include 300 MW of battery storage, as well as 4,000 acres of crops and 1,000 sheep on site. This blog post will highlight key features of the project, […]