Study finds local and state opposition to wind and solar projects will increase in 2023

Opposition to wind and solar projects at the state and local levels has increased significantly over the past year, according to a new study by Columbia University’s Sabine Center for Climate Change Law.

In 2023, the report found 73% more local restrictions compared to the previous year’s report published in May 2023, and 111% more restrictions at the state level.

“In almost every state, local governments have enacted laws and regulations aimed at blocking or restricting renewable energy facilities, or project opponents have succeeded in forcing the delay or cancellation of individual projects, or both,” the report states.

Scientists say the size and nature of the restrictions and controversies in the report show that local opposition to renewable energy facilities is “widespread and growing,” posing a “potentially significant barrier to achieving climate goals.”

The report included data from energy expert Robert Bryce’s renewable rejections database, which records such rejections based on news reports. According to the database, 66 renewable energy projects were rejected in 2014. This year there were already 682 of them.