Wind and Solar Permitting: Federal Agency Delays, Litigation, and Project Development Risk

This CLE webinar will discuss the challenges facing wind and solar projects resulting from federal permitting delays, agency review bottlenecks, ongoing litigation, finance partners, and tax deadlines. The panel will navigate recent federal court rulings on wind and solar permitting restrictions, heightened agency review, and the resulting delays. The panel will cover environmental challenges, offshore and federal lands approval processes, tax credit timing pressures, and drafting strategies to allocate risk for delays or change in law.

Wind and solar project development is increasingly complicated by shifting federal permitting policy, agency review procedures, pending litigation, and persistent tax credit deadlines. Counsel should also consider the permitting risk beyond traditional land use and environmental approval processes. Wind projects may face additional DoD and FAA review for concerns impacting radar functionality and national security. Renewable projects offshore or on federal lands, wetlands, protected species habitat, or impacting tribal/historical resources may trigger permitting processes through NEPA, ESA, FLPMA, OCSLA, CWA, NHPA, and more.

Counsel must also mitigate financial and contract risks, including tax credit deadlines for beginning of construction and placed-in-service dates, lender requirements, PPA obligations, force majeure, and change in law.

Listen as our panel discusses the federal permitting and agency review landscape currently affecting renewable energy projects, including the status and relevance of recent litigation, environmental and federal lands issues, tax credit timing, and contract best practices.