Delays to Wind and Solar Energy Projects: Permitting and Litigation Are Not the Only Obstacles
Formal NEPA EIS review includes three official stages: the notice of intent, which initiates the preparation of an EIS; the publication of the final EIS, which indicates the completion of the review; and the record of decision, in which the agency approves the permit, lease, and financing decisions. The end of the review process signals that a project can move forward in its development, though if the project is located on land held by the Bureau of Land Management, it still needs final approval from the agency (which is known as a notice to proceed).
Our timelines also include initial action dates. One example of an activity that qualifies as an initial action is the date the developer submits an application for a lease, permit, or financing. Another example is the date of operation, typically when the first unit of the project begins producing power.
We find that the full NEPA review process for the solar and wind projects we evaluated—from the notice of intent to the record of decision—generally was completed more quickly than for other major infrastructure projects as reported by the Council on Environmental Quality. Compared with the reported average of 54 months, our sample shows that solar and wind projects require about 27 and 45 months, respectively.
In our sample, about 60 percent of wind and solar projects completed the formal NEPA EIS process within two years (Figure 1). However, one-third of the solar projects and half of the wind projects exceeded the two-year deadline specified in the Fiscal Responsibility Act. These types of projects likely account for a disproportionate share of the policy conversation about problematic NEPA-related delays in clean energy development.