# What the Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act Does

This bill makes it easier and faster to build wind, solar, and geothermal energy projects on federal public lands. Right now, the process for getting permission to build these projects is slow and complicated. The bill streamlines that process by identifying specific areas where renewable energy development is encouraged and by updating environmental reviews that are decades old.

The bill creates three categories of federal land: priority areas where renewable energy projects get the fastest approval and best incentives, variance areas where projects can be considered without major planning changes, and exclusion areas that are off-limits. For solar energy, the bill immediately designates existing solar energy zones as priority areas. For wind and geothermal energy, the government has three to five years to identify priority areas. Every ten years, these designations get reviewed and can be updated based on what's working and what isn't. The bill also requires the government to update its environmental impact statements for these three energy types, which haven't been fully updated in over a decade.

When renewable energy projects generate revenue from leases, rentals, and fees on federal land, the money gets split four ways starting in 2024: 25 percent goes to the state where the project is located, 25 percent goes to affected counties, 25 percent goes to the federal government to speed up permit processing, and 25 percent goes into a new conservation fund. That conservation fund pays for protecting wildlife habitat, restoring streams and wetlands, and improving public access to federal lands in areas affected by renewable energy development. This means communities hosting these projects get direct financial benefits, and environmental impacts get addressed through dedicated funding.

Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2023

Rep. Levin, Mike [D-CA-49]

Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2023This bill sets forth provisions regarding development of geothermal, solar, or wind energy on public lands. The Department of the Interior shall establish priority areas on its land for geothermal, solar, and wind energy projects, consistent with the principles of multiple use and the renewable energy permitting goal. Among applications for a given renewable energy source, proposed projects located in priority areas for that renewable energy source shall <ul> <li>be given the highest priority for incentivizing deployment, and </li> <li>be offered the opportunity to participate in any regional mitigation plan developed for the relevant priority areas.</li> </ul> The bill provides for the disposition of revenues from the development of wind or solar energy. The bill establishes the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund to make funds available to federal, state, and tribal agencies for distribution in regions in which renewable energy projects are located on federal land for (1) restoring and protecting natural water bodies and fish and wildlife habitat and corridors, and (2) preserving and improving recreational access to federal land and water in an affected region.