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Revisions to DOE’s Environmental Overview Rule Will Lower Prices and Delays for Key Grid Resilience and Clear Power Tasks
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Division of Power (DOE) is amending DOE’s checklist of classes of tasks which, as a result of they sometimes shouldn’t have important environmental impacts, qualify for the only type of environmental assessment beneath the Nationwide Environmental Coverage Act (NEPA). DOE is simplifying the environmental assessment course of for sure vitality storage methods equivalent to battery methods, transmission line upgrades, and photo voltaic photovoltaic methods. In help of the Biden-Harris Administration’s objective to advertise the event of unpolluted vitality and supporting infrastructure, DOE is taking these steps to scale back the fee and time for environmental evaluation incurred by DOE, undertaking builders, and the general public for these tasks.
DOE primarily based the proposed adjustments on years of expertise evaluating the environmental impacts of these kind of tasks by means of analysis, conducting environmental evaluations, and fascinating with business, native communities, and different authorities companies. DOE fastidiously thought of its expertise with vitality storage, transmission line upgrades, and photo voltaic vitality tasks earlier than simplifying the environmental assessment course of. Underneath the adjustments, DOE will proceed to look carefully at every proposed undertaking whereas having the ability to full its environmental assessment tasks in a sooner and cheaper method.
Power Storage Programs
Power storage methods can be utilized to combine renewable vitality into the electrical grid, to assist era amenities function at optimum ranges, present safety from energy interruptions, and scale back reliance on much less environment friendly sources of era that will in any other case run solely at peak instances. The adjustments DOE is saying at this time promote the event of those storage methods by simplifying the environmental assessment course of for constructing, working, upgrading, or decommissioning battery or flywheel vitality storage methods inside or close to areas which have already been developed.
Transmission Line Upgrades
DOE acknowledges that upgrading and rebuilding transmission strains can prolong their helpful life, scale back the necessity for brand new energy strains, and replace the Nation’s energy grid with newer, extra environment friendly, and extra resilient know-how. The revisions to DOE’s class for transmission line upgrades will capitalize on these benefits, which may enhance transmission capability, enhance transmission effectivity, improve vitality resilience, keep away from or scale back adversarial environmental impacts, and scale back price to shoppers. DOE’s adjustments take away current limitations on the size of current powerlines which might be eligible for the only type of NEPA assessment, give builders the choice to relocate inside land already allotted to or developed for his or her energy line, and require that upgrades or rebuilds of the road incorporate finest practices to guard the native atmosphere.
Photo voltaic Photovoltaic Programs
DOE’s adjustments enhance the dimensions of photo voltaic tasks that qualify for the only environmental evaluations beneath NEPA.
Further data is out there at /nepa/doe-nepa-categorical-exclusion-rulemaking-2024.
Information merchandise from U.S. DOE.
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