As Congress Takes a New Swing at Bipartisan Permitting Reform, Environmental Groups Are Calling Foul
This doesn't look good. Trump's attacks on clean energy projects has created an atmosphere of total mistrust about permitting reform. SAD!
Yes definitely @Peter Joseph, we heard that sentiment from a number of Democratic offices in our July lobbying, as well as similar prior comments from key permitting reform players like Senator Whitehose, who's mentioned in the article. I heard it from my MOC's staffer too. I think the administration's anti-wind and solar actions are the biggest obstacle to a comprehensive bipartisan permitting reform bill right now, because there's otherwise a lot of appetite for such a bill in both parties.
I think there are some ways to mitigate that concern. For example, using Sen. Manchin's specific inclusion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline permitting in prior bills as a template, and listing a bunch of clean energy projects in the new bill that will have to be permitted. But it certainly makes the permitting negotiating environment a lot more challenging.
@Peter Joseph
If this is what is meant by permit reform - cutting out public comment, making a decision in the dark and announcing it as final, and then leaving it up to conservationists and local communities to sue to overturn bad decisions, I must ask why support permit reform at all while the federal assault on the environment and renewables runs amok?
@Dana Nuccitelli
I'm just wary of legitimate permit reform becoming a wolf in sheep's clothing.
@Dana Nuccitelli um, yes. I am worried about the way the are using permitting reform laws to build fossil fuel projects, while blocking clean energy projects.
Because environmental law is shut down and the endangerment finding is blocked, I can conceive of how energy permitting will only be used to pollute.
Hi @Ely Hibdon. As @Ricky Bradley noted, that's what we're advocating against. They're not using permitting reform laws now because Congress hasn't passed meaningful permitting reform. The Trump administration is using other means to block some clean energy projects (mostly wind), but that's a separate issue. And despite those efforts, 93% of new power generation capacity added in the US this year will be clean (81% solar + batteries).
That's how we know smart permitting reform will still overwhelmingly benefit clean energy. Solar & batteries can't stop, won't stop 🤓
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