'Green' Push Faces Resistance From Locals

By IAN TALLEY
WASHINGTON -- The risk that President Barack Obama's plans to promote "green jobs" could bog down amid local and state opposition to the transmission lines, windmills and other clean energy hardware is becoming an issue for both supporters and critics of the president's agenda.
A new U.S. Chamber of Commerce Web site launched Friday catalogues 62 wind, wave, solar and biofuel projects and 15 high-voltage transmission proposals across 25 states that have faced significant local opposition, often enough to shut them down entirely. It also documents how 18 natural gas projects, 17 nuclear power plants and around 175 coal plants worth more than $62 billion in investments have encountered local antagonism.
"Just saying you're for green jobs or green technology doesn't get the project built," said William Kovacs, the Chamber's vice president of environment and regulatory affairs. The Chamber advocates setting stricter deadlines for environmental reviews, among other actions.
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Wind turbines on green landscape
The administration and environmental groups say they recognize the potential for local opposition to be a major barrier to new renewable energy and transmission projects. And while they may disagree with the Chamber over modifications of project environmental reviews, they do want to give the federal government greater powers to clear the path for such projects.
"It is possible to put a good thing in the wrong place," said Carl Pope, the executive director of the environmental organization Sierra Club. "But [local opposition] is a real issue and we need to plan a rational, national location and transmission strategy for renewables, and that won't be universally applauded."
The International Transmission Co. has been prevented -- by one homeowner -- for three years from building a 26-mile power line approved by Michigan. In California, Sempra Energy's San Diego Gas & Electric proposal for a 100-mile, 1,000-gigawatt line from a geothermal generation source to the city has faced repeated court challenges from a number of environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity.
The most well-known delay is the 468-megawatt Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound off the coast of Massachusetts, the nation's first offshore wind farm that has failed to win final approval because of coordinated local opposition.
Earlier this month, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) wrote to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar pledging to fight against building a solar project on 600,000 acres of federal land between the Mojave desert preserve and the Joshua Tree National Park. The area lies in a California-designated renewable zone where companies have applied to establish hundreds of solar projects.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) has proposed legislation that would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission greater authority to site transmission lines across the country.
Some environmental groups are trying to broker solutions. The Natural Resources Defense Council is working with one of Google Inc.'s software divisions, Google Earth, to map the most prospective sites and corridors for wind, solar and geothermal, taking into account environmental sensitivities.
They're also facilitating discussions between utilities, local communities and environmental groups. "It's quicker to lock yourself into a room and say, 'We're going to figure this out,' than it is to just bicker it out endlessly through emails, letters and lawyers," said NRDC spokeswoman Julia Bovey.
Write to Ian Talley at ian.talley@dowjones.com