The Nature Conservancy working with big developers to avoid environmental assessment delays

Environmental conservation group The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is working with a rising number of major renewable project developers on project siting with a specific focus on avoiding environmental assessment hangups.

In an interview with NPM, the group’s Texas Land Protection Strategy Director David Bezanson and Renewable Energy Lead Nathan Cummins discussed some of the big name projects the organization has had its hand in over the last year as well as an in-depth project siting map it has engineered for use by developers.

TNC, which owns nature preserves in Texas and holds conservation easements on private lands, is primarily interested in conserving unique habitats, according to Bezanson. This is what made the organization approach developer Orsted when it became aware the developer had leased the site of the Mockingbird Solar project, a 400 MW project being developed in Lamar County, Texas.

According to Bezanson, the site included the “largest remnant of an unusual kind of native tallgrass prairie found nowhere in the world but Texas that is among the most threatened landscapes in North America.”

Bezanson says TNC engaged with Orsted on the site for more than a year that included numerous environmental assessments that culminated with the developer donating a sizable plot of land to TNC for conservation. Although TNC and Orsted were able to find a solution, it did lead to a delay in the timeline of the project; the developer only finalized its decision to move forward in January following the extensive studies.

In the interest of avoiding similar hangups with other projects, TNC has developed and released a searchable map of 19 states, focused on states in MISO and SPP service territories, highlighting areas of conflict for various wildlife areas and potential siting conflicts broken down for both wind and solar projects, as well as areas TNC defined as sites of "low-impact wind development potential."

Cummins says the organization has been working on what would become the map since the early 2000s through the study of conflicts between wildlife, habitats and renewable energy. The study region initially spanned Oklahoma, Kansas and the Texas Panhandle where early wind development was at its heaviest. However, as wind development expanded, TNC followed suit across the central U.S. ultimately including states focused on solar development over wind, as well.

“We wanted to answer the question of if we have enough land and renewable energy resources to allow for the rapid expansion of renewables while also maintaining and protecting our last remaining habitats,” Cummins said. “What we found overwhelmingly is yes we do.”

Cummins says the goal of the map is to be a tool for project developers at the earliest stages of development when considering project sites. Ideally, he says, it will pre-emptively cut back on potential siting and environmental assessment hangups if developers elect to avoid areas with high environmental risk.

“We believe many developers find our map useful to help identify important environmental values and address them early in the process, when it can be most effective from a cost and avoided impact perspective,” Cummins said.

The map remains a work in progress as TNC gathers feedback from developers on ways to improve data and usability. Cummins says the organization has also recognized the need to continue to build out the map to incorporate other states, with particular interest in expanding west to California.

In the meantime, TNC is fresh off the signing the Solar Uncommon Dialogue accord last month, which it describes as a “historic agreement” between SEIA and Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment. The accord seeks to resolve conflicts over developing major U.S. solar projects and related conservation and community concerns.

Signees of the accord are convening six working groups tasked with addressing key issues including community engagement, siting-related risk assessment and decision-making, tribal relations and policy solutions. Developer parties to the accord include several major players including EDP Renewables, Intersect Power, Invenergy, Lightsource bp and Pine Gate Renewables.

Beyond working with developers on siting, TNC is also now starting to have a hand in bringing specific projects to life. Over the summer, TNC worked with Rivian Automotive to establish a competitive process for selecting a renewable project in Kentucky, ultimately selecting BrightNight’s 800 MW Starfire Renewable Energy Center. Upon completion, it will be the largest renewable project in the state.

The project will be developed in four phases with Rivian signing a 100 MW PPA for output from Phase 1 of the project, slated to begin construction in 2025. TNC will also purchase a small 2.5 MW portion of the output.

*This story was originally published exclusively for NPM subscribers last month.


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