It might seem odd that a shortage of archaeologists would pose a big hurdle to switching America to renewable energy. But it’s true. Almost every major infrastructure project that moves dirt has to show it isn’t damaging a site with historical or cultural significance. Today, that makes the humble archaeologist a critical cog in the workforce that’s building wind farms, large-scale solar projects, transmission lines and other clean energy infrastructure. The shortage of field experts is another headache for the Biden administration, which is now spending billions of dollars set aside for clean energy in the Inflation Reduction Act and the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. Archaeologists say there might not be enough of them to keep up with soaring demand,Miranda Willson writes. Some development is in tribal regions in the West and in waters off the U.S. coast. For example, archaeologists have studied whether installing offshore wind turbines in the Northeast could affect areas that were once above sea level and where Native American artifacts have been found, explained archaeologist Cinder Miller, president of the American Cultural Resources Association. Permitting fights
The surge in project development tied to President Joe Biden’s signature climate law is putting pressure on builders and agencies to hire archaeologists. “There is a short-term, acute shortage right now,” said Shawn Patch, a senior archaeologist at New South Associates, based in Georgia. But archaeology programs at universities are more likely to shrink than grow, according to a paper published last year in the industry journal Advances in Archaeological Practice. Universities have also failed to train students for the types of hands-on archaeology jobs now in highest demand. Reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act are at the center of a roiling debate in Congress about how to streamline permitting. Critics complain the process can stretch on for years. Environmental and preservation groups that support the law say it’s critical to ensure that records of enslaved African Americans and Native American tribes aren’t lost in the race to build energy infrastructure. The challenge, archaeologists say, is finding people with deep, expert knowledge of historic and cultural preservation to help comply with NEPA and the National Historic Preservation Act. “The agencies, environmental consulting firms and industry, we’re all in demand of experts needed to facilitate this clean energy transition,” said Erin Lieberman, executive vice president of environmental compliance and strategy at Invenergy, a Chicago-based developer of renewable energy projects. | 
