Energy

USDA, EPA target N.Y. solar energy project approval process

It’s one of at least five states that have recently enacted laws allowing them to preempt local opposition to clean energy efforts.
A cow, back right, scratches on a support beam of a solar panel Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at a farm in Christiana, Tenn. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

The heads of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency are targeting New York’s effort to quickly site large solar projects, which federal officials say threatens “some of America’s most productive farmland.”

The pressure being applied over the project approval process comes as at least five states have enacted laws in recent years allowing the state to preempt local opposition to projects: California, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan and New York.

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