At a glance
- None of the teams reviewing wind permits "are sized to manage the dramatic influx of applications received in recent years," Marks said.
- Equipment delivered after Dec. 31, 2027 does not qualify for the Advanced Manufacturing Credit, according to an Oct. 20 declaration by Tom Vinson, vice president of policy and regulatory affairs at the American Clean Power Association.
- Marks and Vinson disagree on whether the review has moved.
Eight federal employees are handling the Pentagon's review of roughly 400 onshore wind projects, Assistant Secretary of Defense Dale Marks said in a Nov. 3 court filing reported by Utility Dive.
None of the teams reviewing wind permits "are sized to manage the dramatic influx of applications received in recent years," Marks said. He said the same period brought downward pressure on staffing, funding and contractor support. Because contractors cannot perform inherently governmental functions, the roughly 400 projects in the queue rest "solely" with the eight staff, he said. The department executes 13 mitigation agreements in an average year, Marks said, though that figure has recently run around 30.
Equipment delivered after Dec. 31, 2027 does not qualify for the Advanced Manufacturing Credit, according to an Oct. 20 declaration by Tom Vinson, vice president of policy and regulatory affairs at the American Clean Power Association. For developers and the lenders underwriting them, Vinson said one project has already seen turbine delivery pushed back, and put the credit at about $200,000 per turbine, or roughly $24 million for that project.
Marks and Vinson disagree on whether the review has moved. Marks said that since the court stayed the wind review pause, the Military Aviation and Installation Assurance Siting Clearinghouse has gone from a "pause on processing-related activity to active assessment of projects." Vinson said, based in part on information ACP members provided: "Despite the Court's clear orders, DOD has not resumed review." Administrative activity, he said, has not produced "any substantive movement through mitigation review."
Plaintiffs' reply to DOD's Nov. 3 filing is due Nov. 17. ACP's count put the wind queue at 44 GW, as Private Infrastructure Daily previously reported in September.
Mitigation workload has more than doubled
Mitigation agreements DOD executes per year, average vs. recent pace
Average year
13 agreements
Recently
~30 agreements
The same review staff now handles more than twice the usual caseload.
Despite the Court's clear orders, DOD has not resumed review.Tom Vinson, vice president of policy and regulatory affairs at the American Clean Power Association
Reported by the Energy Transition desk from Utility Dive. Published . Corrections