Biden administration cuts fees for renewable energy on public lands

The Biden administration is seeking to make it easier to deploy renewable energy on pubic lands, slashing the amount of money that companies have to pay to use these lands for wind and solar.

The Interior Department said in a statement on Tuesday that it would implement a “rate reduction policy” for solar and wind energy that “substantially” reduces the rates and fees developers have to pay the government. 

On average, the Bureau of Land Management expects to cut rents and fees by more than 50 percent through both lower rents and a “standard” fee for energy produced. 

“Clean energy projects on public lands have an important role to play in reducing our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions and lowering costs for families,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement. 

The announcement comes a few months after the department said it would raise royalties for oil and gas produced on public lands. 

The cut in how much renewables have to pay contrasted with the increased payments from oil and gas reflect the administration’s efforts to shift toward renewable energy and away from fossil fuels.

As the nation struggles with high fuel prices linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, these policies are not expected to rapidly change the situation, given that new energy deployment on public lands can be a years-long process. 

In its statement this week, the Interior Department also said the Bureau of Land Management is “building new internal capacity” to process an increasing number of wind, solar and geothermal energy applications by creating new Renewable Energy Coordination Offices.