As DOI Creates Hurdles for Renewable Energy Sources, Nevadans Will Pay More for Electricity
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Congressman Steven Horsford (D-Nev.-04), Senator Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-Nev.-01) and Congresswoman Susie Lee (D-Nev.-03) sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Doug Burgum raising concerns that the Department’s new policy is placing additional scrutiny on only certain renewable energy sources. This action could put the stability of the energy grid at risk and raise utility rates in states that rely on solar power, like Nevada.
“This July 15th memo establishes that ‘all decisions, actions, consultations, and other undertakings … related to wind and solar energy facilities shall require submission to the Office of the Executive Secretariat and Regulatory Affairs, subsequent review by the Office of the Deputy Secretary, and final review by the Office of the Secretary.’
“We are concerned this memo is meant to intentionally hinder the deployment of renewable energy projects on our public lands, and we question its necessity, especially considering this memo only applies to wind and solar energy facilities rather than all forms of energy production. We are also concerned that the impacts of this memo extend beyond federal lands to any private project that requires approvals at the federal level, such as for transmission right-of-way permits, thus placing even more projects potentially at risk of either being delayed or cancelled altogether,” wrote the members.
As DOI implements this new policy, residential electricity rates have spiked across the United States – more than 30 percent on average since 2020 and almost double the rate of inflation in the past year. At the same time President Trump ended or delayed 80,500 clean energy jobs, cancelled $24 billion for energy projects since May, and announced the termination of nearly $8 billion in clean energy investments in states that did not vote for Trump. Additional projects, including in Nevada, face increased uncertainty due to the Administration’s decisions.
“[B]y adding new permitting hurdles, the Department risks choking this progress and ceding global energy dominance to China, whose ‘all of the above’ strategy has allowed their economy to grow rapidly. By the end of 2024, China added 277 gigawatts of solar, 79 gigawatts of wind, and 40 gigawatts of energy storage compared to roughly 60 gigawatts total across all energy generation types in the United States,” continued the Members.
“The United States is facing an impending energy crisis. Electricity demand is rising rapidly, yet the energy grid is unprepared. DOI’s July 15th memo does not “unleash energy dominance;” it weaponizes the permitting process against it. If the Department is serious about an all-of-the-above energy strategy, it must ensure that both traditional and renewable energy resources can be developed efficiently and responsibly,” concluded the Members.
Read the full letter here.
Senator Cortez Masto has consistently worked to support Nevada’s battery supply chain and clean energy industry, which has created nearly 42,000 good-paying clean energy jobs across Nevada. Through her Innovation State Initiative, Senator Cortez Masto has been a proponent of renewable and sustainable energy, passing bipartisan legislation to promote Nevada’s mining and emerging battery industries. She has also set up a sustainable critical mineral supply chain and led efforts in the Senate to create good-paying solar energy jobs.
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