US Solar Industry Needs Serious Permitting Reform, T1 Energy CEO Contends

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In the “this was news a decade ago” category, T1 Energy CEO Dan Barcelo is hammering home a key point for the US solar power industry. The solar industry has one big problem in the United States compared to other major markets — permitting. With cuts in subsidies and net metering in the country, this is just getting that much more important.

“The ongoing permitting challenge is a key factor slowing down solar manufacturing and deployment in the US, according to T1 Energy’s CEO, Dan Barcelo,” PV-Tech writes following an interview with Barcelo. “Barcelo said permitting regulation needs to be reformed at both the upstream and downstream levels to enable the solar PV industry to navigate a post-tax-credit world.”

From raw material mining, to raw material processing, to project installations, to grid interconnections, solar power is far too hampered in “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” The issue is: this has been a major problem for many years, a well known problem, and little progress has been made. So, how much hope is there? But the way to create change is with strong, clear, incessant messaging, so Barcelo is doing exactly what’s needed. All across the solar industry, this point should be hammered home on a daily basis. Blue collar workers should be making this point while grabbing lunch at Subway. Executives should be making this point to key financial partners. Lobbyists should be talking about this in private meetings, at Starbucks in DC, in state government offices, on social media, and, yes, even at Mar-a-Lago (whether the president is awake or asleep — subconscious messages imparted on people while they sleep can actually be quite powerful).

Solar power is the cheapest option for new power capacity in the United States, but it could be much cheaper. Long project delays, permitting and installation uncertainties, and far too many middle steps add costs to solar projects — from manufacturing to installation. Much of this is really not needed when it comes to solar power. A solar farm is not a coal power plant or nuclear power plant requiring all kinds of safety precautions and risk assessments.

The federal government could do a lot to cut permitting requirements and costs. However, we all know that the current federal government has been trying to slow down and even stop solar power projects, so I don’t think anyone is counting on change there unless the administration changes. Blue states that are keen to address the climate crisis, though, could do a great deal to streamline solar power projects and cut various permitting requirements. Sometimes a greater good should override smaller concerns that are creating a blockade to progress. Indeed, Barcelo also talked about this recently when explaining why Texas is now the #1 state for solar and wind energy projects.

Many issues are not black and white. Cutting permitting requirements comes with some problems and risks. But the benefits should far outweigh any of those when it comes to solar power projects, and why should the US suffer so much more from permitting delays and costs than other nations?

See a couple of our previous stories concerning T1 Energy: