Permitting and siting of wind and solar in Massachusetts: processes, timelines, and outcomes

Permitting reform, shaped by local and state governance, could eliminate unnecessary administrative burdens that slow the development of new electricity generation. However, the permitting process or duration is not well known, especially for locally-permitted projects, which are the standard in the U.S. Northeast and the most common permitting type in the United States. Here, we create an original data set of locally-permitted wind and solar energy projects in Massachusetts to document those timelines. We find that, on average, the permitting duration lasted 250 days, and this duration has increased over time. Permitted and lower capacity projects were associated with shorter permitting duration while canceled and larger capacity projects are associated with longer permitting duration. The results represent the first attempt to calculate permitting speed for locally-permitted wind and solar energy projects at a time when several states are reforming permitting policies, including Massachusetts. This study, therefore, contributes to both the academic and policy debates about how to balance fast deployment with fair practices that weigh the concerns of local communities.

This is an open-access article published in Frontiers in Sustainable Energy Policy and can be downloaded here