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Washington Post
2 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Interior Secretary Burgum must personally approve all wind and solar projects, a new order says
WASHINGTON — All solar and wind energy projects on federal lands and waters must be personally approved by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum under a new order that authorizes him to conduct 'elevated review' of activities ranging from leases to rights of way, construction and operational plans, grants and biological opinions. The enhanced oversight on clean-energy projects is aimed at 'ending preferential treatment for unreliable, subsidy-dependent wind and solar energy,' the Interior Department said in a statement Thursday. The order 'will ensure all evaluations are thorough and deliberative' on potential projects on millions of acres of federal lands and offshore areas, the department said. Clean-energy advocates said the action could hamstring projects that need to be underway quickly to qualify for federal tax credits that are set to expire under the tax-cut and spending bill that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4. The law phases out credits for wind, solar and other renewable energy while enhancing federal support for fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. 'At a time when energy demand is skyrocketing, adding more layers of bureaucracy and red tape for energy projects at the Interior Department is exactly the wrong approach,'' said Stephanie Bosh, senior vice president of the Solar Energy Industries Association. 'There's no question this directive is going to make it harder to maintain our global (artificial intelligence) leadership and achieve energy independence here at home.'' In the legislation, Trump and GOP lawmakers moved to dismantle the 2022 climate law passed by Democrats under President Joe Biden. And on July 7, Trump signed an executive order that further restricts subsidies for what he called 'expensive and unreliable energy policies from the Green New Scam.' That order was part of a deal the Republican president made with conservative House Republicans who were unhappy that the tax-cut bill did not immediately end all subsidies for clean energy. A group of Republican senators, including Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Utah Sen. John Curtis, had pushed to delay phaseout of some of the credits to allow currently planned projects to continue. Trump has long expressed disdain for wind power , describing it at a Cabinet meeting last week as an expensive form of energy that 'smart' countries do not use. Even with the changes approved by the Senate, the new law will likely crush growth in the wind and solar industry and lead to a spike in Americans' utility bills, Democrats and environmental groups say. The law jeopardizes hundreds of renewable energy projects intended to boost the nation's electric grid as demand is set to rise amid sharp growth from data centers, artificial intelligence and other uses, they said. 'This isn't oversight. It's obstruction that will needlessly harm the fastest growing sources of electric power,'' said Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, an industry group. He called the move 'particularly confounding' as lawmakers in both parties seek to streamline permitting for all sources of American energy. The Interior Department said Thursday that Burgum's order will 'level the playing field for dispatchable, cost-effective and secure energy sources,' such as coal and natural gas 'after years of assault under the previous administration.″ 'American energy dominance is driven by U.S.-based production of reliable baseload energy, not regulatory favoritism towards unreliable energy projects that are solely dependent on taxpayer subsidies and foreign-sourced equipment,' said Adam Suess, the acting assistant secretary for lands and minerals management. While Democrats complain the tax law will make it harder to get renewable energy to the electric grid, Republicans say it supports production of traditional energy sources such as oil, gas and coal, as well as nuclear power, increasing reliability. In the Senate compromise, wind and solar projects that begin construction within a year of the law's enactment are allowed to get a full tax credit without a deadline for when the projects are 'placed in service,″ or plugged into the grid. Wind and solar projects that begin later must be placed in service by the end of 2027 to get a credit. The law retains incentives for technologies such as advanced nuclear, geothermal and hydropower through 2032. About 10% of new solar power capacity under development is on federal lands, said Sylvia Leyva Martínez, a principal analyst at the Wood Mackenzie research firm. Those projects could be delayed or canceled if Burgum does not issue permits for them, she said. Related projects such as transmission lines could be affected, too, she said. While only about 1% of the combined capacity of pending wind projects are on federal lands, delays could affect nearby infrastructure that supports renewable projects, said Wood Mackenzie analyst Diego Espinosa. ____ Associated Press writer Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed to this report.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Interior Secretary Burgum must personally approve all wind and solar projects, a new order says
All solar and wind energy projects on federal lands and waters must be personally approved by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum under a new order that authorizes him to conduct 'elevated review' of activities ranging from leases to rights of way, construction and operational plans, grants and biological opinions. The enhanced oversight on clean-energy projects is aimed at 'ending preferential treatment for unreliable, subsidy-dependent wind and solar energy," the Interior Department said in a statement Thursday. The order "will ensure all evaluations are thorough and deliberative" on potential projects on millions of acres of federal lands and offshore areas, the department said. Clean-energy advocates said the action could hamstring projects that need to be underway quickly to qualify for federal tax credits that are set to expire under the tax-cut and spending bill that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4. The law phases out credits for wind, solar and other renewable energy while enhancing federal support for fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. 'At a time when energy demand is skyrocketing, adding more layers of bureaucracy and red tape for energy projects at the Interior Department is exactly the wrong approach,'' said Stephanie Bosh, senior vice president of the Solar Energy Industries Association. 'There's no question this directive is going to make it harder to maintain our global (artificial intelligence) leadership and achieve energy independence here at home.'' In the legislation, Trump and GOP lawmakers moved to dismantle the 2022 climate law passed by Democrats under President Joe Biden. And on July 7, Trump signed an executive order that further restricts subsidies what for he called 'expensive and unreliable energy policies from the Green New Scam.' That order was part of a deal the Republican president made with conservative House Republicans who were unhappy that the tax-cut bill did not immediately end all subsidies for clean energy. A group of Republican senators, including Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Utah Sen. John Curtis, had pushed to delay phaseout of some of the credits to allow currently planned projects to continue. Trump has long expressed disdain for wind power, describing it at a Cabinet meeting last week as an expensive form of energy that 'smart' countries do not use. Even with the changes approved by the Senate, the new law will likely crush growth in the wind and solar industry and lead to a spike in Americans' utility bills, Democrats and environmental groups say. The law jeopardizes hundreds of renewable energy projects intended to boost the nation's electric grid as demand is set to rise amid sharp growth from data centers, artificial intelligence and other uses, they said. "This isn't oversight. It's obstruction that will needlessly harm the fastest growing sources of electric power,'' said Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, an industry group. He called the move 'particularly confounding' as lawmakers in both parties seek to streamline permitting for all sources of American energy. 'Level the playing field' The Interior Department said Thursday that Burgum's order will 'level the playing field for dispatchable, cost-effective and secure energy sources,' such as coal and natural gas 'after years of assault under the previous administration.″ 'American energy dominance is driven by U.S.-based production of reliable baseload energy, not regulatory favoritism towards unreliable energy projects that are solely dependent on taxpayer subsidies and foreign-sourced equipment,' said Adam Suess, the acting assistant secretary for lands and minerals management. While Democrats complain the tax law will make it harder to get renewable energy to the electric grid, Republicans say it supports production of traditional energy sources such as oil, gas and coal, as well as nuclear power, increasing reliability. In the Senate compromise, wind and solar projects that begin construction within a year of the law's enactment are allowed to get a full tax credit without a deadline for when the projects are 'placed in service,″ or plugged into the grid. Wind and solar projects that begin later must be placed in service by the end of 2027 to get a credit. The law retains incentives for technologies such as advanced nuclear, geothermal and hydropower through 2032. About 10% of new solar power capacity under development is on federal lands, said Sylvia Leyva Martínez, a principal analyst at the Wood Mackenzie research firm. Those projects could be delayed or canceled if Burgum does not issue permits for them, she said. Related projects such as transmission lines could be affected, too, she said. While only about 1% of the combined capacity of pending wind projects are on federal lands, delays could affect nearby infrastructure that supports renewable projects, said Wood Mackenzie analyst Diego Espinosa. ____
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump administration order requires interior secretary to sign off on all wind and solar projects
WASHINGTON (AP) — All solar and wind energy projects on federal lands and waters must be personally approved by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum under a new order that authorizes him to conduct 'elevated review' of activities ranging from leases to rights-of-way, construction and operational plans, grants and biological opinions. The enhanced oversight on clean-energy projects is aimed at 'ending preferential treatment for unreliable, subsidy-dependent wind and solar energy," the Interior Department said in a statement Thursday. The order "will ensure all evaluations are thorough and deliberative" on potential projects on millions of acres of federal lands and offshore areas, the department said. Clean-energy advocates said the action could hamstring projects that need to be underway quickly to qualify for federal tax credits that are set to expire under the tax-cut and spending bill that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4. The law phases out credits for wind, solar and other renewable energy while enhancing federal support for fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. 'At a time when energy demand is skyrocketing, adding more layers of bureaucracy and red tape for energy projects at the Interior Department is exactly the wrong approach,'' said Stephanie Bosh, senior vice president of the Solar Energy Industries Association. 'There's no question this directive is going to make it harder to maintain our global (artificial intelligence) leadership and achieve energy independence here at home.'' In the legislation, Trump and GOP lawmakers moved to dismantle the 2022 climate law passed by Democrats under President Joe Biden. And on July 7, Trump signed an executive order that further restricts subsidies what for he called 'expensive and unreliable energy policies from the Green New Scam.' That order was part of a deal the Republican president made with conservative House Republicans who were unhappy that the tax-cut bill did not immediately end all subsidies for clean energy. A group of Republican senators, including Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Utah Sen. John Curtis, had pushed to delay phaseout of some of the credits to allow currently planned projects to continue. Trump has long expressed disdain for wind power, describing it at a Cabinet meeting last week as an expensive form of energy that 'smart' countries do not use. Even with the changes approved by the Senate, the new law will likely crush growth in the wind and solar industry and lead to a spike in Americans' utility bills, Democrats and environmental groups say. They say it jeopardizes hundreds of renewable energy projects intended to boost the nation's electric grid as demand is set to rise amid sharp growth from data centers, artificial intelligence and other uses. 'Level the playing field' The Interior Department said Thursday that Burgum's order will 'level the playing field for dispatchable, cost-effective and secure energy sources,' such as coal and natural gas 'after years of assault under the previous administration.″ 'American energy dominance is driven by U.S.-based production of reliable baseload energy, not regulatory favoritism towards unreliable energy projects that are solely dependent on taxpayer subsidies and foreign-sourced equipment,' said Adam Suess, the acting assistant secretary for lands and minerals management. While Democrats complain the tax law will make it harder to get renewable energy to the electric grid, Republicans say it supports production of traditional energy sources such as oil, gas and coal, as well as nuclear power, increasing reliability. In the Senate compromise, wind and solar projects that begin construction within a year of the law's enactment are allowed to get a full tax credit without a deadline for when the projects are 'placed in service,″ or plugged into the grid. Wind and solar projects that begin later must be placed in service by the end of 2027 to get a credit. The law retains incentives for technologies such as advanced nuclear, geothermal and hydropower through 2032. Matthew Daly, The Associated Press
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Trump administration order requires interior secretary to sign off on all wind and solar projects
WASHINGTON (AP) — All solar and wind energy projects on federal lands and waters must be personally approved by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum under a new order that authorizes him to conduct 'elevated review' of activities ranging from leases to rights-of-way, construction and operational plans, grants and biological opinions. The enhanced oversight on clean-energy projects is aimed at 'ending preferential treatment for unreliable, subsidy-dependent wind and solar energy,' the Interior Department said in a statement Thursday. The order 'will ensure all evaluations are thorough and deliberative' on potential projects on millions of acres of federal lands and offshore areas, the department said. Clean-energy advocates said the action could hamstring projects that need to be underway quickly to qualify for federal tax credits that are set to expire under the tax-cut and spending bill that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4. The law phases out credits for wind, solar and other renewable energy while enhancing federal support for fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. 'At a time when energy demand is skyrocketing, adding more layers of bureaucracy and red tape for energy projects at the Interior Department is exactly the wrong approach,'' said Stephanie Bosh, senior vice president of the Solar Energy Industries Association. 'There's no question this directive is going to make it harder to maintain our global (artificial intelligence) leadership and achieve energy independence here at home.'' In the legislation, Trump and GOP lawmakers moved to dismantle the 2022 climate law passed by Democrats under President Joe Biden. And on July 7, Trump signed an executive order that further restricts subsidies what for he called 'expensive and unreliable energy policies from the Green New Scam.' That order was part of a deal the Republican president made with conservative House Republicans who were unhappy that the tax-cut bill did not immediately end all subsidies for clean energy. A group of Republican senators, including Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Utah Sen. John Curtis, had pushed to delay phaseout of some of the credits to allow currently planned projects to continue. Trump has long expressed disdain for wind power, describing it at a Cabinet meeting last week as an expensive form of energy that 'smart' countries do not use. Even with the changes approved by the Senate, the new law will likely crush growth in the wind and solar industry and lead to a spike in Americans' utility bills, Democrats and environmental groups say. They say it jeopardizes hundreds of renewable energy projects intended to boost the nation's electric grid as demand is set to rise amid sharp growth from data centers, artificial intelligence and other uses. 'Level the playing field' The Interior Department said Thursday that Burgum's order will 'level the playing field for dispatchable, cost-effective and secure energy sources,' such as coal and natural gas 'after years of assault under the previous administration.″ 'American energy dominance is driven by U.S.-based production of reliable baseload energy, not regulatory favoritism towards unreliable energy projects that are solely dependent on taxpayer subsidies and foreign-sourced equipment,' said Adam Suess, the acting assistant secretary for lands and minerals management. While Democrats complain the tax law will make it harder to get renewable energy to the electric grid, Republicans say it supports production of traditional energy sources such as oil, gas and coal, as well as nuclear power, increasing reliability. In the Senate compromise, wind and solar projects that begin construction within a year of the law's enactment are allowed to get a full tax credit without a deadline for when the projects are 'placed in service,″ or plugged into the grid. Wind and solar projects that begin later must be placed in service by the end of 2027 to get a credit. The law retains incentives for technologies such as advanced nuclear, geothermal and hydropower through 2032.
Hindustan Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
The Wall Street Machine for Financing Rooftop Solar Is Seizing Up
Surging defaults on loans used to buy residential solar panels are cascading through Wall Street, catching bond investors and private-credit funds in their wake. Some bonds tied to GoodLeap, a financial-technology firm that lends money for solar installations, have stopped paying interest, people familiar with the matter said. The payments stopped because far more homeowners are defaulting on the loans than initially forecast, they said. Solar bonds are one niche in the growing ecosystem href=" data-vars-anchor-text="built by nonbank lenders">built by nonbank lenders like GoodLeap, which use artificial intelligence and financial-market expertise to let Americans borrow with a click of the mouse. The 'fintechs' connect consumers with debt investors eager to lend to them, but higher interest rates have pushed loan payments up and more borrowers are falling behind. About 50,000 U.S. homes had solar panels installed last year, up from about 14,000 in 2019, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Falling panel prices fueled the surge, but so did easy credit. GoodLeap and competitors like Sunnova Energy International and Mosaic funneled loans to homeowners through local dealers who sold panels door-to-door. Now cracks are starting to spread through the network, showing how the potent combination of private-credit and complex bonds can backfire. Several GoodLeap competitors filed for bankruptcy court protection in June, and some bonds backed solar loans trade at deep discounts. 'I should never have been approved for a loan to begin with,' said Donna Nash, an office administrator who bought rooftop panels for her home in Sarasota, Fla., in 2023 with a GoodLeap loan. She was making $45,000 a year at the time, but a salesman for Sun Energy, a dealer, told her that he could get her a loan for the purchase, which would cut her power bill and make her eligible for a big tax credit, she said. The first lender the salesman approached rejected Nash, but GoodLeap approved her for a $48,000 loan with a $150 monthly payment that would step up to $210 if she didn't use the tax credit to pay down her balance. After installation, she learned that she still needed to pay Florida Power & Light $30 a month and that she made too little income to claim most of the tax credit. She filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2024 but initially kept paying off the loan. 'I struggled with it, 'Do I pay? Do I not pay?'' Nash said. Two months later she stopped paying GoodLeap. 'If they come and take the panels I'm fine with that. I feel like I can finally breathe again.' GoodLeap doesn't keep any of the loans it makes, acting instead as a middleman that profits off fees charged for making and servicing the loans. The company is profitable and has pivoted to lending for home improvements such as heat pumps and energy-efficient windows, a GoodLeap spokesman said. The strategy helped GoodLeap avoid bankruptcy, unlike competitors who remained focused on solar. Most GoodLeap solar bonds still pay interest and are valued at 90 cents or more. The firm finances the loans with borrowed cash, then quickly repays its debts by selling the loans to banks and private-credit firms such as Blackstone. Many buyers of the loans—though not Blackstone—paid for them with money raised by bundling them together into 'asset-backed securities,' or ABS. Those are bonds guaranteed by the future payments the homeowners make on the loans. That strategy boosts returns if homeowners pay on time and worsens losses if they don't. The financing machine kicked into high gear when interest rates fell during the pandemic, and GoodLeap attracted tech investors such as Michael Dell, who valued its business at $12 billion. Banks such as Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Credit Suisse sold $5.7 billion of GoodLeap solar bonds to investors, according to ABS data provider Finsight. Credit-rating companies Fitch Ratings and KBRA gave most of the bonds investment-grade ratings based on analysis of similar deals backed by other consumer debt. When interest rates jumped in 2022, so did the cost of the solar loans. Goldman sold $2.25 million of bonds backed by GoodLeap loans to an investment firm called the Catholic Responsible Investment Funds for nearly 100 cents on the dollar in 2022, according to analysis by The Wall Street Journal of data from Empirasign Strategies. Cumulative losses on the bonds rose to 3.65% in 2024, then nearly doubled this year to 6.3%, one of the people familiar with the matter said. Traders recently quoted the bonds at 42 cents, according to Empirasign. A spokeswoman for Catholic Responsible Investment declined to comment. 'It was a brand new product…and people made good faith estimations, I suppose, of what default curves would look like and they happened to be worse,' said GoodLeap Chief Financial Officer John Shrewsberry. The firm is engaging with bondholders and trying to maximize their returns, he said. Like other asset-backed securities, solar bonds are split into levels, or tranches, made up of pools of thousands of loans. Investors in the highest tranches get priority on payments and if defaults climb above preset thresholds, interest payments to the junior tranches stop. Several bonds were close to breaching their thresholds earlier this year, but GoodLeap repurchased defaulted loans from the pools, preventing their triggers. By June, four bonds had defaults in excess of their thresholds, including the one owned by Catholic Responsible Investment. With no further buybacks, the interest payments halted. 'It doesn't help us to have securitizations that fail to live up to the risk expectations [set] when they were created,' Shrewsberry said. 'We're going to do everything we can.' Write to Matt Wirz at
