Sponsor
Mike Levin
Representative · D-CA
Representative · D-CA
The bill aims to speed and better target renewable development on federal lands—providing predictable permitting rules, revenue to states/counties, and a conservation fund—while trading off reduced federal land availability in some zones, delayed near‑term production targets, redirected federal receipts, and new risks of localized environmental, tribal, and administrative conflicts.
States and counties hosting wind and solar projects (and conservation groups) will get new, predictable revenue and a dedicated Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund to pay for local mitigation, restoration, and permitting support.
Developers and utilities gain faster, more predictable federal permitting and application processing (shorter cost‑recovery timelines, 180‑day NOI rules, priority processing in designated areas), reducing delay uncertainty and upfront scheduling risk.
Federal land eligibility is clarified and energy storage (≥5 kWh) is explicitly included, making it clearer which lands can host wind, solar, geothermal, and co‑located storage projects and simplifying project siting decisions.
Excluding designated areas (e.g., some state DRECP/exclusion zones) and narrowing 'covered land' reduces the amount of federal land available for projects, which could slow deployment and raise project costs.
Delaying the minimum renewable production deadline to 2030 postpones near‑term renewable buildout on federal lands and delays associated emissions reductions, jobs, and local economic benefits.
Redirecting a large share of federal receipts to states, counties, and the dedicated Fund reduces revenues available for other federal priorities and—over time—could constrain BLM’s federal permitting and oversight capacity.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Sets BLM rules to speed and prioritize renewable projects on eligible Federal lands, caps rents to private-land averages, and creates a new revenue-sharing formula plus a conservation fund.
Official title: To promote the development of renewable energy on public land, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 24, 2025 by Mike Levin · Last progress March 24, 2025
Creates a BLM-led framework to speed and standardize permitting, siting, fees, and revenue sharing for utility-scale wind, solar, geothermal, and energy storage projects on eligible Federal lands. It directs the Interior Secretary to identify eligible and priority areas, set application timelines and processing rules, limit rents and fees to levels comparable with private lands, establish a new Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund, and share project revenues with States and counties while preserving multiple-use and sustained-yield land-management duties.