December 23, 2025
Clean tomorrow Siting Solutions Projects released its new Site Policy Field Guide on December 18, offering policy models, principles and a “practical framework” for clean energy advocates.
The new field guide aims to address siting, which the project claims has become the “largest clean energy bottleneck” in the US. Project officials have centered the guide around designing clean energy advances while also balancing the needs of company stakeholders.
“Siting is the bottleneck holding back America’s clean energy potential,” said Alex Breckel, co-author and Senior Director of Programs at the Siting Solutions Project. “With the right policies, states can reduce energy costs for consumers, attract investment and deliver real benefits to workers, landowners and host communities.”
The guide’s authors also collaborate with Data for progress And Strategic Economic Research for external research and collaboration. Internally, the guide’s authors say they drew on recent state-level reforms in the US that have been successful. Rather than a one-size-fits-all solution for the US as a whole, the guide has opted for four adaptable policy solutions designed for political leaders at the state level.
The guide calls for a review and overhaul of current state siting processes to help the U.S. decarbonize its future and climb over the biggest barrier to clean energy.
Examples for the future of solar installations
As electricity needs continue to rise, thanks in part to AI data centers, the US is facing an energy crisis nationwide. Research by the field guide authors states that “energy bill increases are now one of the leading sources of financial stress for households across the country,” regardless of region, economic status or political views.
To meet rising demand and address this “critical challenge,” the guide’s authors urged state leaders and clean energy advocates to follow the example of several states in the U.S., as well as other areas around the world, both of which have had successful examples.
“States don’t have to start from scratch – successful models already exist,” said Nelson Falkenburg, co-author and Situation Policy Manager for the Siting Solutions Project. “This field guide shows how states can adopt clear, fair, and predictable siting rules that unlock clean energy growth while strengthening community trust.”
The field guide also released six principles for location policy, hoping to turn locationalization of the U.S.’s more serious clean energy problem into its greatest opportunity. The principles include establishing transparent permitting processes, establishing enforceable timelines, deflecting political pressure, protecting landowners’ rights, ensuring benefits to host communities and planning wildlife land management programs.
However, the guide states that “policy design is not enough.” For the U.S. to have continued success in clean energy, politicians must carefully implement the new technology with clear benchmarks for progress. But Clean Tomorrow officials say the technology is ready for implementation at the state level, and that policymakers have the ability to create a strong clean energy framework across the U.S. that could solve the problem of rising energy needs.
Tags: Clean Tomorrow, policy, siting, Siting Solutions Project, Solar farms
