Yup, US Solar Growth Hurting from Solar Permitting Delays

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Just yesterday, I wrote about T1 Energy CEO Dan Barcelo contending that the US needs serious solar permitting reform. Now we have another warning about how much this is holding back solar power growth in the state.

In the latest US Solar Market Insight report, SEIA and Wood Mackenzie pointed out that a federal permitting slowdown has delayed a large number of solar projects, and if that continues, solar growth in the coming years will stagnate.

“In a world of fluctuating fuel prices, energy buyers have made it clear that they want the security, low cost and speed of solar and storage, which commanded a massive 91% of all new capacity built in Q1,” interim president and CEO of SEIA Darren Van’t Hof said. “Yet, as power demand skyrockets, political and regulatory attacks are slowing down the exact resources we rely on. Impeding the only sector that is actively building new power is a reckless gamble that will only drive electricity bills higher. The stakes are simply too high for Washington’s permitting gridlock to continue.”

Indeed. It would be crazy, if it wasn’t so predictable and easily explained. Americans want cheap electricity, and they want clean electricity, but the cheapest and cleanest electricity on the planet, solar electricity, is being slowed and blocked in the United States by an administration that favors fossil fuels and cronyism above all else.

Another SEIA analysis shows that a whopping 457 solar and energy storage projects have permits pending. These projects remain vulnerable to politically motivated delays and even cancellations. It makes no sense, unless you consider how much an old, legacy, rich industry pouring millions upon millions of dollars into political campaigns works for trying to stifle progress in the US energy sector.

“We are forecasting that U.S. solar additions will be flat over the next five years despite the need for more power supply in the US,” added Michelle Davis, head of solar at Wood Mackenzie. “We’ve seen a notable increase in solar procurements in utility resource planning, but current permitting bottlenecks continue to serve as near-term headwinds.”

We’ll see what happens, but, yeah, we’re not in the brightest moment in US solar history — which is unfortunate since solar power has gotten so cheap and mature, and there’s so much potential to grow with clean energy at the moment.