With the rapid growth in solar energy deployment necessary to decarbonize our economy, the industry faces new and quickly evolving needs and challenges across a wide variety of federal regulatory agencies. SEIA’s regulatory affairs experts are leading this charge by regularly and directly engaging with regulators, participating in dozens of rulemaking dockets across agencies, and, when necessary, litigating to protect industry’s interests in federal appeals courts. 

SEIA’s regulatory affairs team has decades of collective experience working in and with agencies that directly affect the solar industry (including the Department of the Interior, the Department of the Treasury, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission), representing other energy trade associations on high-stakes policy matters, and defending industry positions in federal courts across the country. We also work closely with SEIA’s world-class congressional affairs, communications, and technical teams to project and amplify the solar industry’s story across disciplines and audiences. Our passion for effective advocacy and member service brings the credibility and values necessary to ensure solar’s bright future.  

SEIA’s Regulatory Work 

Power Markets and Transmission Advocacy

• SEIA regularly intervenes and submits comments in key dockets before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
  • Transmission planning and cost allocation 
  • Interconnection reform - Learn more about SEIA’s recommended principles and recommendations for interconnection reform in our white paper here: Lessons from the Front Line: Principles and Recommendations for Large-scale and Distributed Energy Interconnection Reform 
  • Challenge to discriminatory PURPA rules in federal appeals court 
• Engagement and advocacy at the Regional Transmission Organizations  
  • Fair, competitive PJM market rules

Permitting and Land Use 

• Common-sense permitting under the National Environmental Policy Act 
• Community Solar Project Siting 
• Deploying 25 GW of solar energy on federal lands by 2025 

Environment 

• U.S. Supreme Court litigation on scope of U.S. EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions 

Cybersecurity 

• Securing our solar future 

 

SEIA members: Get Involved in Committees 

Regulatory Affairs Committee 

• Oversees all regulatory advocacy efforts with guidance from member company commercial, regulatory, legal and government affairs experts. 

PJM and MISO/SPP Committees 

• Directs engagement at major Regional Transmission Organizations. 

Siting & Permitting Committee 

• Brings together permitting and environmental experts to engage on federal lands, wildlife, and cross-cutting siting challenges. 

Ecosystems Services Working Group 

• Focuses on emerging dual use concepts, including agrivoltaics, grazing, pollinators, and other ecosystems services of solar.