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The RAPID Toolkit

3pm, October 09th, 2015

The Regulatory and Permitting Information Desktop (RAPID) Toolkit provides information about permits and regulations that affect renewable energy and bulk transmission projects. Uncertainty about the duration and outcome of the permitting process has been a deterrent to investment in these projects and has slowed construction progress. Reducing the permitting timeline—or reducing the number of required permits—can decrease project costs and investor risk, which encourages clean energy development for the benefit of all.

The RAPID Toolkit makes regulatory and permitting information rapidly accessible from one location by providing links to permit applications, processes, manuals, and related information. Its goal is to facilitate communication between project developers and permitting agency personnel, among permitting agencies at all jurisdiction levels, and among all project stakeholders—including the public.

The RAPID Toolkit:

  • Enhances transparency and understanding of all stakeholders in the permitting process
  • Facilitates communication among permitting agencies
  • Saves permitting agencies time by explaining the permitting process to industry
  • Helps agencies train new staff and document procedures
  • Helps agencies provide consistency among multiple offices
  • Provides a model for jurisdictions that have yet to develop permitting regulations
  • Provides a forum for sharing and maintaining permitting processes and documents
  • Provides data and background analysis to inform policymakers and stakeholders in the development of new regulations, policies, and rules
  • Provides assurance to stakeholders that projects will be conducted in a technically, environmentally, and socially responsible manner.

Access the toolkit here

The RAPID Toolkit was developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the Western Governors’ Association. Additional support is provided by Tetra Tech, Environmental Management and Planning Solutions Inc., Kearns and West, and Herrick Solutions.

Institutions Involved

  • Open Energy Information (OpenEI)
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