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Research Briefings

Key steps for successful renewable-energy permitting

Summary:

Developers of renewable-energy projects frequently spend more time obtaining permits than on the actual construction of their projects. Such delays — often unanticipated — pose serious financial risks. But there are several steps that can reduce exposure to permitting problems. The most important is to identify those agencies that have some oversight of the project and to interact with them often.

  1. Table of contents                                                                                                            
  2. Executive summary                                                                                                    
  3. Introduction                                                                                                                 
  4. The difficulties of renewable-energy permitting                                      
  5. Major permitting steps                                                                                          
    1. Business risks in permitting                                                                                    
    2. The disconnect between high government officials and permitting reality  
    3. Citizen suits: the other wild card                                                                           
  6. Steps for successful permitting                                                                    
    1. Public outreach                                                                                                        
    2. Continuous information sharing with agencies                                                
    3. The importance of outside expertise                                                                   
    4. Government policy changes to streamline permitting                                      
    5. Regulating an electricity sector as it reconstructs                                             
  7. Key takeaways and steps for smoother permitting                              
  8. Appendix: Example questionnaire for developers                                
  9. About Martin Piszczalski                                                                                    
  10. About GigaOM Pro                                                                                                    
  11. Further reading                                                                                                        

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