The US Chamber of Commerce has released their ‘Project, No
Project’ which details the difficulty that energy projects are
having in getting their necessary permits. Surprisingly, this
includes renewable energy. They say: “one of the most surprising
findings is that it is just as difficult to build a wind farm in
the U.S. as it is to build a coal-fired power plant.” Of the 351
projects they surveyed, 31 are in California with 19 of those
being wind farms, solar, biomass, and geothermal renewable
energy plants. The others are transmission lines (which are
crucial if California is going meet the 2020 goal of 33%
renewable energy) and natural gas. The Chamber says if all the
California projects were approved, it would create 141,000 jobs
annually and boost the economy with $60 billion in spending.
This would certainly help the state recover from its current
recession.They see the problem as twofold. First, often the very
same renewable energy activists who champion its use worldwide
organize effectively to block