Public lands open to solar and wind, with local revenue and habitat fund

What it does

This bill opens federal public lands and national forests to wind and solar energy development and creates a revenue-sharing system: 25% of project revenues go to states, 25% to counties, 25% to the Interior Department for permit processing, and 25% to a new conservation fund for habitat restoration and public land access in affected regions. Renewable energy developers benefit from streamlined permitting; states, counties, and conservation efforts benefit from revenue sharing.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is dual: it removes barriers to wind and solar projects on federal lands while establishing a revenue-sharing formula that funds both local governments and environmental mitigation. This is neither pure deregulation nor pure conservation—it is a structured market-enabling framework with mandatory public benefit.

What the text implies

• The 25% state/county revenue stream may create political incentives for states and counties to favor renewable projects, potentially overriding local environmental concerns or competing land uses.
• The conservation fund is discretionary (Secretary 'may' distribute funds) rather than mandatory, creating risk that habitat mitigation is underfunded relative to project impacts.
• Grandfathering clause (Section 4) locks older projects into pre-2016 fee schedules, potentially reducing federal revenue from legacy projects and creating a two-tier system.
• The bill does not establish acreage caps or exclusion criteria beyond existing land-use plans, meaning the scope of development on public lands is undefined and could be extensive.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill advances renewable energy development on public lands while ensuring local communities (states and counties) receive direct revenue and establishing a dedicated conservation fund to mitigate environmental impacts. Citizens benefit from clean energy development, local fiscal support, and habitat restoration funded by the projects themselves rather than general appropriations.

Who stands to gain

• renewable energy developers (wind and solar companies)
• state and county governments (revenue recipients)
• conservation nonprofits and agencies (fund recipients)

Named in the bill

Secretary of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Secretary of Agriculture, National Forest System, Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund, Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, Mineral Leasing Act

Where it stands

3 cosponsors: 3 Republicans.

• Mar 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Mar 10, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Agriculture and House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

2 lobbying clients named this bill on 5 disclosure filings across 4 quarters, Jun 2025 to Mar 2026. Those filings disclosed $450,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 7 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.

Paul Gosar, the sponsor, reported $87,570 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• National Council on Teacher Retirement 9370 Studio Court Elk Grove Ca 95758 — $240,000 on 4 filings
• Corporate Energy Buyers Association — $210,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jun 22, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.