The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) passed on July 4, 2025 will significantly increase annual rents and fees for new and existing wind and solar energy projects sited on federal public lands. On August 1, 2025, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) updated its regulations to reflect the OBBBA’s rent provisions, but questions remain regarding how BLM will administer the new program. Section 50302 of the OBBBA directs BLM to charge renewable energy projects acreage rent and capacity fees in exchange for use of federal lands. The basic framework is the same as under [...]

On May 14, 2025, the Department of the Interior (DOI) issued a press release signaling its intent to significantly increase annual rents and fees for renewable energy projects on federal lands by rescinding the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Renewable Energy Rule that took effect in July 2024. The recission also would remove certain elements of BLM’s application processing regulations and may reinstate the framework in place under BLM’s old regulations that had been in effect since 2017. The following assessment summarizes the current state of BLM’s renewable energy regulations and what could happen next, [...]

On May 1, 2025, the House Natural Resources Committee released a draft budget reconciliation bill that, if enacted, could increase long-term costs for wind and solar energy projects on federal lands. The bill would replace the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) current capacity fee formula with a flat percentage of gross revenue, double acreage rent for wind projects, and eliminate BLM's discretion to lower charges. The bill is currently in draft form and has not been signed into law. As part of the budget reconciliation process – a legislative procedure that allows certain fiscal measures [...]

Questions Remain Around BLM’s Renewable Energy Rents Rule The U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) July 2024 Renewable Energy Rule reduces annual costs of operating wind and solar energy projects on federal lands, but its complexity makes it difficult for developers and financiers to forecast BLM charges and decide whether to opt in by July 1, 2026. The Renewable Energy Rule overhauls how the agency charges annual rents and capacity fees for renewable energy rights-of-way. Please refer to our article on the original rule for an overview of its major components. The rule generally lowers [...]

On 11 April 2024 the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a prepublication copy of a final rule that will reduce annual rent and capacity fees for wind and solar energy rights-of-way (ROWs), allow noncompetitive leasing in Designated Leasing Areas (DLAs), modify BLM’s approach to prioritizing applications, and make other changes to the application process. The rule will take effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Rents and Capacity Fees The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 directs BLM to collect fair market value for use of public lands. Under [...]