Climate activists are pushing the federal government to seize swathes of private land to speed the construction of wind turbines and fields of solar panels. An estimated 160 million acres of land must be given over Green New Deal-style developments to meet Joe Biden’s net-zero objectives.
Seventy percent of land in America’s 48 contiguous states is privately owned, however. Owners are often unwilling to turn their land over for industrial development, but they can be forced using “eminent domain”. This allows the state to purchase property against owners’ wishes.
The strategy is being pushed not just be activists and officials, but also by “woke capital”. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, told shareholders in 2022 that “[t]o expedite progress, governments, businesses and non-governmental organizations need to align across a series of practical policy changes that comprehensively address fundamental issues that are holding us back.”
“[P]ermitting reforms are desperately needed to allow investment to be done in any kind of timely way. We may even need to evoke [sic] eminent domain,” he added.
In some cases, corporations that designate themselves “common carriers” can also use eminent domain against private property owners. In order to secure Inflation Reduction Act subsidies, Summit Carbon Solutions and Navigator CO2 Ventures are seeking to build carbon capture pipelines through five states. Landowners who do not want the pipelines running through their property could be forced to sell using eminent domain.
“It’s a big boondoggle, and there is a ton of money to be made,” said South Dakota state representative Karla Lems.
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