This piece originally appeared at Green Tape.
Something is happening in California. Buffy Wicks, chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Permitting Reform, has repeatedly called for reforms to the CEQA process. Assembly Member Papan has introduced AB527, which would create a categorical exemption for geothermal exploration drilling. And Ro Khanna is tweeting about zoning reform.
With that in mind, I thought it might be useful to put out a few ideas that would make a significant difference in California’s ability to deploy clean energy infrastructure. These ideas fall into two categories: Judicial Review Reform and Exemptions.
Judicial Review Reform
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) litigation timeline presents significant obstacles for clean energy deployment. Currently, legal challenges can extend for years, creating uncertainty that impacts project viability regardless of the lawsuit's merits. This creates what some observers call a "litigation doom loop" where projects become mired in repeated lawsuits and multiple rounds of CEQA analysis, deterring investment and stalling California's climate and infrastructure goals.
