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A new white paper highlights three policy tools that can reduce permitting risk, improve local acceptance, and accelerate project approvals.
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Good morning and happy Friday,


President Trump is in Beijing this week meeting with President Xi, and while trade is the main focus, energy and rare earth minerals are also on the agenda. While the Iran war is benefitting the U.S. in the short term through higher oil and LNG exports, the resulting oil shocks are accelerating global demand for clean energy technologies and strengthening China’s long-term advantage in EVs, solar, and batteries. 


BloombergNEF’s Energy Storage Market Outlook for 1H 2026 confirms that the energy storage industry has reached the 100 GW era, with 112 GW installed globally in 2025—a 48% increase over 2024. In 2026, watch for another massive increase, with an anticipated 41% jump to 158 GW.


For its part, solar is knocking on 3 TWs’ door, having reached about 2,974 GW by the end of 2025: “It took the solar industry more than 40 years to install its first terawatt of capacity. It took less than three years to nearly triple that.”


A recent Reuters article takes a deep dive into the market impacts of the “foreign entity of concern” (FEOC) rules included in last year’s OBBBA. Uncertainty over whether U.S. solar factories with Chinese ownership or supply ties qualify for clean-energy tax credits is widespread, and as Treasury delays guidance, installers, banks, and insurers are pulling back from China-linked manufacturers, threatening a significant share of newly built U.S. solar manufacturing capacity.


And Peter Colavito, executive director of Invest in Our Future, argues that clean energy philanthropy should shift emphasis from top-down federal policy toward grassroots project deployment and local organizing. In his view, accelerating the energy transition requires focusing on county boards, township meetings, and permitting hearings—meaning funders should back the local groups on the ground working to put clean megawatts on the grid.


Read on for more.

Permitting Pivot


A new white paper, A Win-Win Solution for Clean Energy Siting, argues that renewable energy developers need to rethink siting strategy around negotiated community benefits and regulatory certainty, rather than relying solely on conventional permitting and tax frameworks. The report highlights three policy tools that can reduce permitting risk, improve local acceptance, and accelerate project approvals. Here’s the CliffsNotes version:

  • The report reframes siting as a contractual challenge, not just a permitting one: It argues that many conflicts arise because existing legal structures prevent developers and communities from negotiating visible, mutually beneficial outcomes. The three tools listed below can convert projects from abstract tax-base additions into tangible local investments tied to schools, roads, healthcare, or other community priorities.

  • PILOT agreements can improve local acceptance: Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs) allow developers to replace variable property taxes with negotiated payments directed toward visible local priorities such as schools, roads, or healthcare facilities. This approach helps communities perceive direct value from projects while giving developers more predictable financial obligations.

  • Development agreements can reduce permitting risk: Contractual development agreements allow developers to negotiate community benefits upfront in exchange for long-term zoning and permitting certainty. These agreements can freeze zoning requirements for 5-20 years, reducing the risk of late-stage project cancellations or politically motivated rule changes, increasing regulatory certainty. 

  • State “Safety Net” siting models are gaining momentum: The report highlights frameworks like Michigan’s 2023 siting law, which preserve local control but set reasonable baseline standards and creates mutual incentives for developers and localities to reach agreements, while enabling developers to appeal to state regulators if local governments fail to act or block projects unfairly.


⚡️ The Takeaway


A new playbook for community buy-in. Overall, the report points to structural policy constraints as a meaningful contributor to—if not the primary cause of—community opposition and permitting friction. It suggests implementing policy frameworks that encourage clean energy developers to approach future projects less as pure infrastructure deployments and more as negotiated community partnerships. Developers that proactively structure tangible local benefits, secure contractual certainty early, and engage communities before conflicts escalate are likely to face fewer delays and stronger long-term project viability.

Appeals Court Affirms


In a ruling last week, Michigan’s Court of Appeals largely upheld the state’s authority to override local governments that attempt to block large renewable energy projects through restrictive zoning rules, reinforcing a key pillar of Gov. Whitmer’s 2023 clean energy agenda. The decision supports the PSC’s role in approving utility-scale wind, solar, and battery projects when local ordinances fail to meet statewide standards, though the court sided with local governments on two narrower procedural issues. Here’s what you need to know:

  • The court affirmed that the PSC acted within its authority when creating rules to implement Public Act 233, which allows developers to bypass local governments if local ordinances are more restrictive than statewide standards. Thus, state permitting authority largely survives, preserving a critical backstop for developers facing hostile zoning environments.

  • Judges ruled that local governments have 30 days to begin the approval process only after actually meeting with developers, rather than after developers merely offer to meet. The court also expanded the definition of “affected local unit,” potentially increasing the number of municipalities entitled to compensation or participation in project reviews.

  • The ruling reduces some regulatory uncertainty and strengthens confidence for renewable developers and investors considering projects in Michigan. However, the procedural changes could still create opportunities for local delays, especially in politically contentious communities, and it’s “unclear how the opinion will affect nine solar and wind farms in the process of seeking state approval.”

⚡️ The Takeaway


Clean energy (mostly) prevails. Overall, the split decision is a meaningful win for Michigan’s clean energy buildout. By preserving the state’s ability to preempt restrictive local zoning, the ruling supports faster deployment of renewable projects, greater investment certainty, and progress toward the state’s long-term climate and electricity goals. In related news, “Michigan House Republicans on Tuesday voted to repeal the state’s recently enacted 100% clean energy standard, a move that the state Senate’s top lawmaker says stands ‘no chance’ of getting a vote in that chamber.”


From Orphan to Opportunity


America’s millions of abandoned oil and gas wells may be getting a second act—this time as geothermal assets. States including Oklahoma, New Mexico, Alabama, Colorado, and North Dakota are exploring whether orphaned wells can be repurposed for geothermal heat, energy storage, or even electricity generation, turning expensive environmental liabilities into potentially valuable clean energy infrastructure.

For developers, the appeal is obvious: the holes are already drilled, the subsurface geology is well mapped, and many oil-and-gas-heavy regions already have skilled drilling workforces and existing infrastructure. Oklahoma alone has more than 20,000 abandoned wells, “and state regulators estimate that it would take 235 years and hundreds of millions of dollars to plug all of them.” Repurposing some of those wells could reduce upfront drilling costs while opening new pathways for distributed geothermal systems, district heating, or underground storage.

What’s especially notable is the bipartisan momentum. Unlike solar and wind, geothermal has largely escaped the political backlash facing other clean energy technologies under the Trump administration. Red and blue states alike are updating regulations, launching feasibility studies, and creating legal frameworks to transfer orphan wells into private redevelopment projects.




That said, the technology is still early-stage and highly site-specific. Most abandoned oil and gas wells are not hot enough for utility-scale power generation, making direct-use heating applications— schools, homes, campuses, greenhouses—the most promising near-term opportunity. Developers also face technical hurdles around fluid management, well integrity, and economics.

Still, the bigger takeaway is strategic: geothermal is increasingly being framed not just as a clean energy play, but as an energy transition and economic redevelopment story. For developers looking beyond crowded solar and storage markets, repurposed wells could become an intriguing niche with growing policy support and relatively low political risk.
Thanks for diving into the Developer Dispatch with us.
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