HowLongDoesItTake?

NationalEnvironmentalPolicyActTimelinesandOutcomesforCleanEnergyProjects

ObstaclestoEnergyInfrastructureProject

ArthurG.Fraas,EmilyJoiner,BrielleLee,andKrystalLiu

Report25-14July2025

AbouttheAuthors

ArthurG.FraasisavisitingfellowatResourcesfortheFuture(RFF).Fraasworksonavarietyofissuesrelatedtoenergyandtheenvironment,includingprojectslookingatthedevelopmentofretrospectiveanalysesofmajorenvironmentalrules,thetreatment

ofuncertaintyinregulatoryanalysis,thepotentialregulationofgreenhousegases

undertheCleanAirAct,andissuesandtradeoffswithenergyefficiencyregulations.

EmilyJoinerisresearchassociateatRFFwhoworksonasuiteoftopicswitha

focusonwildfireriskimpactsandmitigation.Joinerobtainedbachelor’sdegreesin

sustainabilityandeconomicsfromArizonaStateUniversityandamaster’sdegreein

agriculturalandresourceeconomicsfromtheUniversityofArizona.

BrielleLeeisaJurisDoctorcandidateatLouisianaStateUniversity’sPaulM.Hebert

LawCenter.LeeworkedasasummerassociatethissummerinNewOrleans.Last

summer,LeeservedasaninternatRFF,wheresheexaminedobstaclestorenewable

energydevelopmentacrosstheUnitedStates,contributingdetailedanalyseson

regulatoryhurdlesanddelaysimpactingcleanenergyprojects.

KrystalLiuisajudicialinternattheUSDistrictCourtfortheSouthernDistrictofNewYork,servingundertheHonorableRobynF.Tarnofsky.LiuiscurrentlyaJurisDoctor

candidateattheGeorgeWashingtonUniversityLawSchool.AsaninternatRFF,Liu

conductedresearchonthebarrierstorenewableenergydevelopmentintheUnited

States,producingin-depthanalysesoflegalchallengesandprojectdelaysaffecting

cleanenergyinitiatives.

AbouttheProject

TheRFFObstaclestoEnergyInfrastructureresearchprojectaimstoidentifyand

analyzecriticalbarrierstobuildingenergyinfrastructureintheUSandimprove

theirrepresentationinmodels.Theprojectbeganin2023withaseriesofexpert

workshopsconvenedtodiscussthemostsignificantobstaclestoinfrastructure

andpoliciesmeanttoaddressthem.Thesemeetingsinformedthedevelopmentof

aresearchagendatofurtherourcapabilitiestounderstandandmodelobstaclesto

energyinfrastructure.Theprojectidentifiedemergingopportunitiesforresearch

andcommissionedseveralstudies,includingtheonepresentedhere,toadvanceour

analyticalunderstandingoftheseobstacles.

ResourcesfortheFuturei

HowLongDoesItTake?NationalEnvironmentalPolicyActTimelinesandOutcomesforCleanEnergyProjectsii

AboutRFF

ResourcesfortheFuture(RFF)isanindependent,nonprofitresearchinstitutionin

Washington,DC.Itsmissionistoimproveenvironmental,energy,andnaturalresourcedecisionsthroughimpartialeconomicresearchandpolicyengagement.RFFis

committedtobeingthemostwidelytrustedsourceofresearchinsightsandpolicysolutionsleadingtoahealthyenvironmentandathrivingeconomy.

TheviewsexpressedherearethoseoftheindividualauthorsandmaydifferfromthoseofotherRFFexperts,itsofficers,oritsdirectors.

SharingOurWork

OurworkisavailableforsharingandadaptationunderanAttribution-

NonCommercial-NoDerivatives4.0International(CCBY-NC-ND4.0)license.Youcancopyandredistributeourmaterialinanymediumorformat;youmustgive

appropriatecredit,providealinktothelicense,andindicateifchangesweremade,andyoumaynotapplyadditionalrestrictions.Youmaydosoinanyreasonable

manner,butnotinanywaythatsuggeststhelicensorendorsesyouoryouruse.

Youmaynotusethematerialforcommercialpurposes.Ifyouremix,transform,orbuilduponthematerial,youmaynotdistributethemodifiedmaterial.Formoreinformation,visit

/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

.

ResourcesfortheFutureiii

Abstract

Growingdemandforelectricityandincreasedinterestinaffordablecleanenergy

sourceshavecreatedaricheconomicopportunityforrenewableenergydevelopersinrecentyears.However,developershavelongexpressedfrustrationwiththe

myriadobstaclestobuildingnewgenerationprojects—inparticular,selectingasiteandsecuringthenecessaryleasesandfederalpermits.TheNationalEnvironmentalPolicyActof1969(NEPA)establishesaprocessofenvironmentalreviewthatis

compulsoryforanymajoraction,includingthefinancingofsolarandwindprojectsandconstructionofutility-scalerenewableenergyprojectsonfederallands1

Itsrequirementsareoftenmentionedasamajorobstacletorenewableenergy

development,butdoestheNEPAprocesssignificantlydelayrenewableenergy

projects?WouldadjustmentstoNEPAacceleratethecleanenergytransition?We

examinetheexperienceforsolar,wind,andgeothermalpowerplantsthatcompletedtheNEPAprocessfrom2009to2023toprovidenewinsightsintothesequestions.

Overthisperiod,wefindthatthesolarandwindprojectssubjecttoNEPAreview

accountforonlyasmallfractionofthetotalutility-scalerenewablecapacitybroughtonlinefrom2010through2023.Theserenewableprojectscompletedtheformal

NEPAprocessinlesstimethantheaveragetimeforallprojecttypesacrossallfederalagencies.Almosttwo-thirdsofthesesolarandwindprojectsdidsowithinonetotwoyears;however,anumberoftheremainingprojectsrequiredsubstantiallylonger.

Abbreviations

Agencies

BIA:BureauofIndianAffairs

BLM:BureauofLandManagement:

BPA:BonnevillePowerAdministration

DOD:DepartmentofDefense

DOE:DepartmentofEnergy

DOI:DepartmentofInterior

FWS:FishandWildlifeService

RUS:RuralUtilitiesService

USACE:USArmyCorpsofEngineers

USDA:USDepartmentofAgriculture

USFS:USForestService

WAPA:WestenAreaPowerAdministration

NEPA

EA:environmentalassessment

EIS:environmentalimpactstatement

FEIS:finalenvironmentalimpactstatement

FONSI:findingofnosignificantimpact

NOI:noticeofintent

NTP:noticetoproceed

ROD:recordofdecision

Energy

CSP:concentratedsolarpower

PV:photovoltaic

MW:megawattage

1Utility-scaleprojectsareprojectswithacapacitygreaterthan20megawatts(AC),as

FERChasadopted20megawattsasthecut-offforlargemerchantgenerators.20mega-wattorgreatercapacityisconsideredcompetitiveforwholesalepowermarkets(NARUCandU.S.AIDn.d.;UrbanGrid2019).

HowLongDoesItTake?NationalEnvironmentalPolicyActTimelinesandOutcomesforCleanEnergyProjectsiv

Contents

1.Introduction1

2.PolicyContext:TheNEPAProcess2

3.Methodology4

4.ResultsforEnvironmentalImpactStatementReviews5

4.1.Utility-ScaleSolar5

4.2.OnshoreWind8

4.3.Geothermal9

5.ResultsforEnvironmentalAssessmentReviews9

5.1.Utility-ScaleSolar9

5.2.OnshoreWindEnvironmentalAssessments10

5.3.GeothermalEnvironmentalAssessments11

5.4.DelaysafterCompletionofNEPAEISandEAReviews11

5.5.MissingData12

6.Conclusion14

References16

AppendixA:NEPAReviewedRenewableEnergyProjects18

AppendixB:USDA-RUSLoanGuarantees27

HowLongDoesItTake?NationalEnvironmentalPolicyActTimelinesandOutcomesforCleanEnergyProjects1

1.Introduction

Growingdemandforelectricityandincreasedinterestinupscalingcleanenergy

sourceshavecreatedneweconomicopportunitiesforenergydevelopersinrecent

years.Inmanylocationsacrossthecountry,renewableenergyprojectsareexpectedtobeexceptionallyvaluableadditionstothegrid.However,developershavelong

expressedfrustrationwiththemyriadobstaclestobuildingnewgenerationprojects.Theseobstaclesincludeselectingasitefordevelopmentandsecuringthenecessaryleasesandpermits.2Forprojectsdevelopedonprivateland,diversestateandlocallawsgovernthepermittingprocess,withvaryingdegreesofdelay.However,wherefederallandsorotherfederalinterests(e.g.,wetlandsorfundingprogramsfor

renewablesources)areinvolved,projectsaresubjecttoreviewundertheNationalEnvironmentalPolicyAct(NEPA).3TherequirementsoftheNEPAprocessareoftenmentionedasamajorobstacletorenewableenergydevelopment.EventhoughtheFiscalResponsibilityActof2023(FRA)amendedNEPAwithseveralprovisionstoexpediteNEPAreviews,federallawmakerscontinuetoexploreadjustments.4

Despitetherecentandongoingchangestothefederalpermittingprocess,questionsaboutNEPAreviewremain.DoestheNEPAprocesssignificantlydelayrenewable

energyprojects?WouldadjustmentstoNEPAacceleratethecleanenergytransition?Whatarethetrade-offs?Thisreportprovidesadditionalevidencetoinformanswerstothesequestions.WeexaminetheNEPApermittingprocessforsolar,wind,and

geothermalpowerplantsonfederallandsfrom2009to2023andfindthatsolarandwindprojectscompletedformalNEPAreviewinlesstimethantheaverageforall

projecttypesacrossallfederalagencies.Almosttwo-thirdsofthesesolarandwindprojectscompletedtheformalNEPAprocesswithinonetotwoyears;however,anumberoftheremainingprojectsrequiredsubstantiallylonger.

2Weareusing“permits”torepresentthevarietyofpermittingandleasingactionsof

theseveralagencies.Forexample,theBureauofLandManagement(BLM)issuessolarenergyright-of-way(ROW)“l(fā)eases”throughacompetitiveprocessforutility-scalesolarenergydevelopmentwithindesignatedleasingareas.ItissuessolarenergyROW“grants”inresponsetoapplicationsforutility-scalesolarenergydevelopment.Thegrantpermit-tingprocessisnotcompetitive,althoughBLMmayinitiatecompetitivebiddingunder

certainconditions.TheseprocessesalsoapplytoROWapprovalsforwindprojects.Forgeothermalprojects,BLMissuesROWleases(BLMn.d.a,n.d.b;Nedd2022).

3TheNationalEnvironmentalPolicyActof1969(NEPA)(42U.S.C.§4321etseq.(1969))

requiresacompulsoryenvironmentalreviewforanymajoraction,includingtheconstruc-tionofutility-scalerenewableenergyprojects.

4Theamendmentsincludedpagelimitsanddeadlinesforenvironmentalimpactstate-mentsandenvironmentalassessments(Sec.107(e)and(g);42U.S.C.§4336a(e)and

(g)).TheDepartmentofInteriorrecentlyannouncedemergencypermittingproceduresinresponsetoPresidentDonaldJ.Trump’sdeclarationofanationalenergyemergency(TheWhiteHouse2025).Theseproceduresapplytoavarietyofenergy-relatedprojects,includinggeothermalenergy,butnottosolarandwindprojects.Theprocedureswouldholdthereviewassociatedwithenvironmentalassessmentstocompletionwithin14daysandthereviewassociatedwithenvironmentalimpactassessmentstocompletionwithinroughly28days.

ResourcesfortheFuture2

BuildingonpreviousworkbyFraasetal.(2023),whocatalogedtheutility-scalesolarprojectsthatcompletedtheNEPAprocessbetween2009and2021,wehaveadded

anothertwoyearstothedatabasetoincludesolarprojects’statusthroughtheend

of2023—atotalof32solarprojectscompletingenvironmentalimpactstatements

(EISs)and19projectscompletingenvironmentalassessments(EAs)forthe2009to2023period.Wehavealsoexpandedthedatabasetoinclude25onshorewindprojects(16projectscompletingEISsandnineprojectscompletingEAs)and16geothermal

projects(threeprojectscompletingEISsand13projectscompletingEAs).

2.PolicyContext:TheNEPAProcess

TheheartoftheNEPAprocessisdevelopingtheenvironmentalimpactstatement,acomprehensivestudyofaprojectandavailablealternativesforaprojectlikelyto

haveasignificantenvironmentaleffect.TheEISisintendedtoprovidepublicofficialswithrelevantinformationandensureahardlookatthepotentialconsequences.

EachEISmustincludeadescriptionoftheagency’saction,thereasonitisneeded,adescriptionoftheaffectedareas,andananalysisofadverseenvironmentaleffects.Itmustconsiderreasonablealternativestoreduceoravoidtheseeffects,alongwithanyirreversibleandirretrievableeffects.Noactioncanbetakenthatwillhaveanadverseenvironmentaleffectorotherwiselimitthechoiceofareasonablealternativeuntiltheleadagencycompletesitsreviewandissuesarecordofdecision(ROD)basedontheEIS.5

TofacilitateagencyeffortstocomplywithNEPA,theCouncilonEnvironmentalQuality(CEQ)regulationsissuedin1978createdtwoadditionalcategoriestoidentifyfederalactionsthatdonotrequireanEIS:categoricalexclusions(CEs)andenvironmental

assessments(EAs).6CEsarecategoriesofactionsthatdonotindividuallyor

cumulativelyhaveasignificanteffectonthehumanenvironment.7EAsprovideascopingprocesstodeterminewhetheraprojectmayhaveasignificantadverse

540CFR§1502.25(b).

6In1978,theCouncilonEconomicQuality(CEQ)issuedregulationssettingoutrequire-

mentstoimplementNEPA.TheCEQrulegovernedagencyreviews—withrecentamend-mentsin2020,2021,and2024—for45years.However,recentcourtdecisionshavefoundthatCEQlackedtheauthoritytoissuebindingregulations.CEQannouncedonFebruary

20,2025,thatitisissuinganInterimFinalRulerescindingtheNEPAregulationandpro-vidingimplementationguidanceforNEPAinitsplace(Matkinsetal.2025).Therenewableprojectscoveredinthispaperwerereviewedundertheprovisionsofthe1978NEPArule.

7CEsarenotexemptionsfromtheNEPAprocess;theyrequireaspecificfindingbythe

relevantfederalagency.FederalagenciesthathaveestablishedspecificCEsforsolarandwindprojectsincludetheDepartmentofEnergy,USDARuralUtilityDevelopment,FederalAviationAdministration,FederalEnergyRegulatoryCommission,andNationalCapital

PlanningCommission(CEQ2018b;18CFR§380.4–5).

HowLongDoesItTake?NationalEnvironmentalPolicyActTimelinesandOutcomesforCleanEnergyProjects3

environmentaleffect.TheEAprocessiscompletedwhentheagencyeitherissuesafindingofnosignificantimpact(FONSI)ordeterminesthatanEISisrequired.8

NEPAEISreviewsalsotypicallyincorporateotherfederalagencyreviewsunderotherstatutes,suchastheEndangeredSpeciesAct,CleanWaterAct,andNationalHistoricPreservationAct.

Weidentified32solar,16wind,andthreegeothermalprojectscompletingEISreviewsand19solar,ninewind,and13geothermalprojectscompletingEAsover2010–2023.

Theseprojectsaccountforonlyasmallfractionofthetotalutility-scalerenewable

energyinthatperiod(EIA2024).NEPA-reviewedsolarprojectsincreasedsolar

capacityby9,000MW,roughly10percentofthetotalincreaseinsolarcapacity(EIA2024;DOE2011a).NEPA-reviewedwindprojectsincreasedwindcapacitybyroughly4,000MW,just3.7percentofthetotalincreaseinwindcapacity(EIA2024;DOE

2011b).AdditionalgeothermalcapacityfromNEPA-reviewedprojectscontributed400

MW—aminorcontributiontototalrenewablecapacity.9Fromourreview,weidentifiedthefollowingtakeaways:

?Takeaway1:SolarandwindprojectscompletedtheformalNEPAEISprocess

inlesstimethantheaveragetimeacrossallprojecttypesacrossallfederal

agencies.ComparedwiththeCEQaverageof54monthsforallprojecttypes,

solarandwindprojectsrequired27and45months,respectively,tocompletetheNEPAEISprocess(CEQ2020).

?Takeaway2:Sixty-twopercentofthesesolarandwindprojectscompletedthe

formalNEPAEISprocesswithinonetotwoyears.However,averagereviewtimeisskewedbythesubstantialnumberofprojects—one-thirdofthesolarprojectsandhalfofthewindprojects—thatexceededtheFRAtwo-yeartimelimitfor

completingaformalEISreview10ThelongestittookforaprojectinoursampletogofrominitialactiontoRODwas12years.

?Takeaway3:Forbothwindandsolar,thetimerequiredforprojectsafter

completingNEPAEISreviewtobeginoperation(orthedurationpostRODbutbeforeoperationforpendingprojectsasofDecember2023)stretchedoutoverfourormoreyearsfornineof24solarprojectsandsevenof14windprojects11

?Takeaway4:Noneofthe16solarprojectsforwhichwehavecomplete

informationreachedfulloperationfromtheirinitialactiondatewithin5years.

Nineofthese16projectsrequiredatleastsevenyears,withthreeofthese

projectstakingmorethan16years(withtwostillpendingasofDecember2023).

8AnEAgenerallyconsistsoffourelements:(1)thepurposeoftheproposedaction;(2)alternativestoit;(3)itsenvironmentalimpactsandalternatives;and(4)theagenciesconsultedinpreparingtheEA(BLMn.d.c).

9Notethattotalgeothermalcapacitydeclinedoverthisperiodevenwiththecontributionof400MWfromnewgeothermalprojects(EIA2024;Salmonetal.2011).

10The2023FederalResponsibilityAct(FRA)establishedatimelimitoftwoyearsforEISsandoneyearforEAs(CEQ2024).

11Theseprojecttotalsexcludeterminatedandmodifiedprojects.

ResourcesfortheFuture4

Forthe13onshorewindprojectsforwhichwehavefullinformation,threeprojectsbeganoperationswithinfiveyearsoftheinitialaction.However,sixprojectstookatleast10yearsafterinitiatingfederalagencyreviewtostartoperationorwerestillpendingoperationasofDecember2023.Notably,16yearshaveelapsedforthreependingwindprojectsfromthedateofinitialactiontoDecember2023.

?Takeaway5:NEPAEAsonaveragearecompletedinlesstimethanagency

EISs.However,13solarprojects(outof19)andeight(of12)geothermal

projectsrequiredmorethanoneyeartoreachaFONSIfromtheirinitialactiondates.Despiteuncertaintyintheinitialactiondates,thesetimelinessuggestthatagenciesmayfinditchallengingtocomplywiththeone-yeartimelimitestablishedintheFRA.

?Takeaway6:Althoughthedocumentsassociatedwiththeconclusionofthe

NEPAEISandEAprocessesaregenerallyavailable,informationontheearly

stagesofagencyreviewandontheadditionalstepsprojectstaketoprogresstowardoperationaftercompletingformalNEPAreviewislimited.MoredetailedinformationonthesestepscouldhelpbetteridentifycausesofdelaywithintheNEPAprocess.

?Takeaway7:Whilewebelievewehaveidentifiedmost,ifnotall,oftherenewableprojectssubjecttoformalNEPAreview,theserenewableprojectsaccountfor

onlyasmallfractionofthetotalutility-scalerenewablecapacitybroughtonline

from2010through2023.Forexample,NEPA-reviewedsolarprojectsaccountforonlyroughly10percentofthetotalincreaseinsolarcapacity,andNEPA-reviewedwindprojectsaccountforonly3.7percentofthetotalincreaseinwindcapacityoverthestudyperiod(EIA2024).

Thefollowingsectionsdescribeourmethodology,providedetailedfindingsonthetimerequiredforNEPAEISandEAreviewsforspecificsolar,wind,andgeothermalprojectsinoursample,anddescribegapsinthedata.

3.Methodology

Weexaminedfederalpermittingprocessesforutility-scalesolar,onshorewind,and

geothermalprojectstoidentifypotentialbarriersinsitingandfundingthesefacilities.Webelieveoursamplecoversalmostalltheutility-scalerenewableenergyprojects

completingformalNEPAreviewforpowerplantconstructionlocatedonfederalandtriballandoverthe2009to2023period.WedidnotcoverNEPAreviewsconcerned

withgeneration(gen-tie)transmissionfacilities(wherethesolarfacilitywasonprivatelandsorwherethefederalagencytieredoffanalreadycompletedNEPAreview).

WeexcludedanyprojectsthatdidnotcompletetheNEPAEIS(orEA)processwith

arecordofdecision(orafindingofnosignificantimpact).WereliedonthefinalEIS

andEAplustheRODandFONSIastheprimaryinformationsources,butwealsouseddocumentsfromotherfederalandstateagencies,newspaperandtradepressarticles,andpublicationsfromnongovernmentalgroups.

HowLongDoesItTake?NationalEnvironmentalPolicyActTimelinesandOutcomesforCleanEnergyProjects5

TheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)maintainstheEnvironmentalImpact

StatementDatabase,whichhasinformationaboutEISspreparedbyfederalagencies,aswellasEPA’scommentsconcerningtheEISs.Inaddition,theprimaryagencies

involvedinthereviews—BureauofLandManagement(BLM),DepartmentofEnergy(DOE),USArmyCorpsofEngineers(USACE),andUSDepartmentofAgricultureRuralUtilityService(USDARUS)—havecentralizeddatabaseswithdocumentslikethefinalenvironmentalimpactstatement(FEIS),ROD,finalenvironmentalassessment(FEA),andFONSI12WewerenotabletoidentifyacentralsourceforBureauofIndianAffairs(BIA)reviews13

Inadditiontothecentralizedagencysites,weusedaGooglesearchontheproject

nametogathergeneralinformation.Ifanydetailsweremissing,suchasthenoticeof

intent(NOI)datetoinitiateanEISreview,werefinedthesearchusingtermslike“ProjectName”+“NOI”tofindrelevantdocuments.ForNOIs,thisapproachwouldgenerally

locatetheFederalRegisternotice.Weprovidecitationsforsourcesbyprojectina

supplementaldocument,includingcourtinformationrelevanttooursubsequentreport.

4.ResultsforEnvironmentalImpactStatementReviews

4.1.Utility-ScaleSolar

Weidentified32solarprojectsthatcompletedtheEISprocessfrom2009to202314Ofthese32projects,sevenwereterminatedandonewasmodified,leaving24operationalorstillpendingoperationasofDecember2023.Three-quartersoftheEISreviews

12Theagencies’NEPAregistersareavailableonline:

BLM,

/eplanning-ui/home

;

DOE,

/nepa/nepa-documents

;

USACE,

/Environmental/NEPA/

;

andUSDARUS,

/resources/environmental-studies/assess-

ments

.

13MoapaIndianTribeprovidesawebsitethatcoverstheEISandRODfortheseveralprojectsonitsNevadareservation:

/previous-eiss.

html

.

14ModifiedBlythesolarisanextensionoftheBlythesolarproject.BlythesolarwasreviewedunderNEPAandawardedaROWleaseasaconcentratedsolarpowerprojectin2010.Theoriginaldevelopersdeclaredbankruptcyin2011andNextEraEnergyboughttheBlythe

projectassets.NextErarequestedBLMapprovalofavariancetotheROWtoallowa

changetoaPVdesignandareductionintheprojectfootprint.BLMcompletedaFEISandissuedaRODonAugust1,2014(BLM2014a).TheColoradoRiverIndianTribeschallengedtheBLMapprovalofthesechangesonDecember4,2014(seeColoradoIndianTribes,etal.

v.DepartmentofInterior,etal.5:14-cv-02504(D.California2014),

https://www.basinan-

/CRIT%20Lawsuit%20Blythe.pdf

).WeadoptedtheBlythe–Modified

BlythesplitasseparateprojectstoreflecttheBLMdecisiontoundertakeaseparateEIStoaddressNextEra’sproposedrevisionstotheprojectandtheadditionalcourtchallengetotheprojectbytheColoradoRiverIndianTribes.

ResourcesfortheFuture6

coveredsolarprojectsonBLMlands.Theremainingprojectswerecompletedby

variousotheragencies:Section404issues(USACE/Panoche),DOEfunding(DOE/Topaz),andsitingontriballands(BIA).Figures1aand1bpresenttheseveralstagesinthedevelopmentofsolarprojects:initialapplicationtothefederalagencytotheNOI(brown),NOItoFEIS(orange),FEIStoROD(blue),andthefinalstepofRODtogeneration(purple).Pendingprojectsextendthroughthetimelinewithgray-outlinedboxesandterminatedprojectsareextendedwithred-outlinedboxes.NotethatBLMhasanadditionalstepaftertheROD,thenoticetoproceed(NTP).TheNTPstep

ensuresthatdevelopersmeetrequirementsintheright-of-way(ROW)governingtheconstructionandoperationoftheseprojectsbeforetheybeginconstruction(BLMn.d.d).

TheaveragetimetocompleteaformalEISreviewandissueaRODforthese32solarprojects—27months—issubstantiallyshorterthantheaverageNEPAreviewtimeof

4.5yearsacrossalltypesofprojectsacrossallfederalagencies(CEQ2018a).Roughly

70percentoftheprojectscompletedtheNEPAprocess—NOI,formalenvironmentalreview,EIS,andROD—inonetotwoyears(seeAppendixA).Elevenprojects,however,encounteredlongerdelaysintheNEPAEISreviewandassociatedfede