Springfield committee hears how new state clean-energy law will reshape local permitting

Ward 8 Councilor Zeta Govan convened the Springfield City Council’s Environmental and Sustainability Committee to hear a briefing on the state’s new clean-energy law and its likely effects on municipal permitting.

Michael De Kiera, who identified himself as chair of the Energy and Climate Action Committee in Shootsburg and a member of that town’s planning board, told the committee the law assigns the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) to write uniform siting and permitting standards, requires a consolidated municipal permit for small clean-energy projects, and sets strict review timelines that begin when an application is submitted.

De Kiera said the law draws a line between small and large energy infrastructure and keeps “small” projects largely under municipal review: generation projects under 25 megawatts (solar, wind, anaerobic digestion/biomass) and storage projects under 100 megawatts (battery storage). He said municipalities will have 30 days to declare an application complete and 12 months from submission to approve or deny it. If a…