143 Solar Companies Urge Congress to Work with DOI to Unleash American Solar Energy; Ensure Certainty, Equal Treatment of All Energy Sources in Permitting Reform - CleanTechnica

A coalition of 143 solar energy companies has sent a letter to the U.S. Congress urging lawmakers to collaborate with the Department of the Interior (DOI) to address a July 15 DOI memo that has effectively imposed a near-complete moratorium on permitting solar projects. The companies argue that the memo and its implementation have created excessive regulatory barriers, delaying or halting solar project approvals on both federal and private lands. They emphasize the need for permitting reforms that ensure fairness and certainty, without discrimination against solar energy compared to other energy sources. The letter highlights that the DOI memo has impacted multiple permitting processes, including those under DOI agencies for projects on federal lands, consultations involving DOI on private lands, and permits from other federal agencies where DOI has a consultative role. Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), stressed that without addressing this unequal treatment, the solar industry faces significant deployment and investment challenges amid rising energy demand. SEIA also criticized the SPEED Act for