The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted a proposal that, if approved, would help expedite construction of some transmission, solar and storage projects on federal lands. The proposed changes would affect the Department of Energy’s enforcement of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which would add “categorical exclusions” for certain energy storage systems and revise “categorical exclusions” for transmission line upgrades and reconstructions and solar photovoltaic systems. Exclusion" clause. These exclusions would remove the requirement for an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement for a particular project.
The U.S. Department of Energy requires a single categorical exclusion for energy storage systems, limited to electrochemical cells and flywheel energy storage systems. The Department of Energy said it does not yet have enough information about energy storage to conclude that compressed air energy storage, thermal energy storage (such as molten salt storage) or other technologies generally do not have serious environmental impacts. Under the proposed rule, the construction, operation, upgrade or decommissioning of electrochemical cell or flywheel energy storage systems in areas previously disturbed or developed would also be subject to review.
In 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy proposed revising three related absolute exclusions for energy storage: energy storage (such as flywheels and batteries, generally less than 10 megawatts), and load-shaping projects (such as the installation and use of flywheels and battery arrays). Currently, the DOE is proposing not to include the 10-megawatt limit in the new absolute exclusion because the amount of electricity is not a criterion for its potential environmental impact. In addition, the Department of Energy proposes to eliminate the absolute exclusion limit of "no more than 20 miles in length" when upgrading or reconstructing existing transmission lines, and to simultaneously remove the mileage limit for adding new power lines within existing rights-of-way or in areas that have been previously disturbed and developed. Relocation options and adding new conditions.
The DOE also proposed clarifying options for relocating transmission lines within the categorical exclusions. Currently, “small-area relocation of a small portion of circuits” has been approved as an exclusion clause, but the DOE proposes to delete “small-area” and further stipulate under the proposed revisions that small portions of circuits may be “located within existing rights-of-way or within Application within land previously disturbed or developed.”
Currently, the absolute exclusions for solar photovoltaic systems mainly cover the installation, modification, operation and dismantling of solar photovoltaic systems on buildings or other facilities. The U.S. Department of Energy proposes to change the term "removal" of solar photovoltaic systems to "decommissioning" in the terms and remove the area limit on proposed projects. Based on DOE's previous experience, acreage limits do not accurately reflect potential environmental impacts.
The U.S. Department of Energy recently released a draft roadmap to address transmission grid interconnection challenges. The plan serves as a practical guide to implementing near- and long-term solutions to enable clean energy interconnection and clean up construction of existing solar, wind and battery projects. The U.S. Department of Energy says the U.S. needs to significantly expand its use of solar and wind resources to meet the Biden administration's goal of decarbonizing the power sector by 2035. However, incentives continue to be introduced, which is driving demand for renewable energy and lengthening the wait times for clean energy projects seeking to connect to the grid.
New clean energy projects need to go through a complex approval process before they can come online. Massive interconnected projects create uncertainty, delays, inequities, and increased costs for developers, consumers, utilities, and their regulators. Earlier this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a final ruling aimed at streamlining the interconnection of generators nationwide and easing congested queues. The final ruling requires all utilities to adopt revised generator interconnection procedures and protocols to ensure reliable, efficient, transparent, and timely interconnection of interconnected customers to the electric transmission system.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will require a “first to prepare, first to serve” cluster study process in which electric providers conduct large interconnection studies of many proposed generating facilities rather than conducting studies on individual generating facilities. To ensure ready projects move through the queue in a timely manner, Connected customers will be subject to specific requirements, including deposits and site control conditions, to enter and remain in the Connected queue.