The Biden administration is already set to achieving its goals for 2025 clean energy since it has permitted dozens of 25 gigawatts (GW) of solar at commercial-scale, onshore wind, and geothermal energy projects that are capable of providing electricity for millions of households.
View of the Cerro de Hula windfarm, located between the municipalities of Santa Ana and San Buenaventura, 24 km south of Tegucigalpa, taken on October 15, 2016.
"Exceeding the goal"
Ever since President Joe Biden started his office, the White House reported in January that his administration has already approved 18 onshore projects that amass a total of 4.175 GW, with eight of these projects located on public lands and ten that have interconnection lines on public lands.
The Biden-Harris office has also started processing an additional 54 priority projects with the capability to add on at least 27.5 GW of clean energy.
Most of the offshore wind lease sales are offered in the New York Bight off the coasts of New York and New Jersey. The Department of the Interior estimated that this sale will create up to 7 GW of clean energy, provide power to two million homes, and generate thousands of jobs in construction, manufacturing, maintenance and etc.
However, an updated report submitted to the Congress last month but was only accessible today, predicts that it is on pace to approve 58 wind, solar, and geothermal power projects that can provide 31, 827 megawatts(MW) of electricity set to power roughly 9.5 million homes when the budget cycle for fiscal 2025 ends.
Most of these clean power projects will generate 29,595 MW, which will be produced by the solar projects and required by the Energy Act of 2020. This indicates that the Biden administration is exceeding the goal of the Energy Act, which is to permit 25,000 MW of onshore clean energy projects by 2025.
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Moving Fast
The report further confirms that the projects are moving fast since the Bureau of Land Management is set to give the green light on projects that will generate 11,409 MW of electricity by the end of 2023. This amount is capable of doubling the 12,000 MW from the 48 geothermal, 35 solar, and 36 windmill projects that are already approved.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement, "The Department of the Interior continues to make significant progress in our efforts to spur a clean energy revolution, strengthen and decarbonize the nation's economy, and help communities transition to a clean energy future."
She also said that there has never been a greater demand for renewable energy.
"The technological advances, increased interest, cost effectiveness, and tremendous economic potential make these projects a promising path for diversifying our national energy portfolio, while at the same time combatting climate change and investing in communities," Haaland added.
Challenges
Despite the promising progress, the report also laid out the following challenges related to "leasing, siting, permitting, or production of renewable energy public lands." The challenges are as follows:
- Ensuring that staffing keeps pace with the workload.
- Creating robust opportunities for coordination and aligning various permitting timelines.
- Rental rates adjustments for wind and solar energy on public land.
- Competitive requirements for siting solar and wind energy projects on public land.
- The geothermal program is limited in its ability to undertake programmatic efforts to enhance the program.
But the Department of Interior also assured actions to meet these challenges and that by 2025 they are equipped to create "substantial progress" on renewable energy permitting for the national goal of 25,000 MWs.
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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
