Glossary

Siting approval

Also: certificate of public convenience and necessity, CPCN, site certificate, conditional use permit

The state or local permission to build a power plant at a site; in many states, the step that decides whether a project goes ahead.

Who approves a power project's site depends on the state and its size. Some states have a siting board or a utility commission that issues a certificate for larger plants; elsewhere the county grants a conditional or special use permit, or a rezoning.

A siting approval is a public decision with a docket, a hearing and often conditions on construction, so it is one of the clearest signs that a site is moving from planning toward a build.