The Misguided Regulations Standing in the Way of a Clean Energy Revolution
ASHER MAXWELL: When New York passed its landmark climate legislation in 2019, environmental groups celebrated the clean energy revolution that would come and private companies drew up grand plans for investments in solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources. But, now, many of New York’s projects have ground to a halt. The incentives that were passed have failed to create meaningful expansions in renewable energy. Project plans have been scrapped, and the dreams of climate activists dashed. This failure is thanks to a gauntlet of permitting regulations that citizen groups, often propped up by fossil fuel companies, have abused to prevent these renewable energy projects.
In order for these projects to proceed, they must withstand an environmental impact assessment on any harm they might cause to the local environment. And, unfortunately, while many of these projects are beneficial for the global ecosystem, they often are harmful to their immediate environment. The construction of these projects can cause habitat destruction, noise pollution, and harm to local wildlife. But the decarbonization they would be a part of would prevent untold harm to the global ecosystem. In the big picture, these projects are greatly beneficial for our environment and our future.
This sad situation in New York is a cautionary tale for the rest of the country. Similar to New York’s state government, the federal government recently passed a once-in-a-generation investment in clean energy that will hopefully unleash an explosion of clean energy projects through the country. But these projects will likely be delayed and deterred by these so-called environmental regulations.
The main cause of the holdup is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). While it has noble intentions, the act has a few provisions that place overly burdensome requirements on clean energy development. Under this law, every project must receive a permit from the federal government after undergoing an environmental review, covering the possibility of clean energy in bureaucratic tape.
For large projects, these environmental reviews are extremely costly and slow. According to the Progressive Policy Institute, the average wait time to receive a permit for transmission infrastructure is 4.3 years; for pipelines, it’s 3.5 years; and for renewable energy generation projects, it’s 2.7 years. As part of the environmental reviews, projects are subjected to public review and comment, which would appear to be an excellent instance of democratic policy-making, but in reality the process is often captured by wealthy property holders and fossil fuel interests.
Several other environmental acts also hold up progress on clean energy development. The Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and state and local regulations can all be major impediments to the progress of clean energy projects. But these laws are often not the kind of existential roadblock that NEPA is and the ongoing permitting reform effort promises to streamline and coordinate efforts to enforce these regulations.
Studies estimate that without reforms of the U.S. permitting system, the three bills with climate provisions passed this congressional session (the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act) will fail to achieve their goals. Instead of decarbonizing the U.S. electric grid and allowing the U.S. to meet its climate goals, the investments these laws make will get caught up in the thicket of regulatory processes and lawsuits caused by a few flawed provisions in NEPA.
The good news is Congress is currently considering a reform to those laws that would simplify the permitting of renewable energy projects. As part of the deal to secure Senator Manchin’s (D-WV) vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) agreed to put a permitting reform bill up for a vote and seriously push for its passage. The current effort is being spearheaded by Manchin, a usual ally of the fossil fuel industry, but it’s received backing from several of the Senate’s top climate hawks, Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
Their bill would codify existing NEPA practices into federal law that will streamline the permitting process. Critics of the legislation argue that the bill will make it easier to ignore the harm done by these projects to local environments and communities. These concerns are reasonable, but the reforms the bill embraces will not compromise the safety and health of local communities. Instead, the plan would reduce the time spent discussing projects that federal agencies deem as categorically safe. The bill will also make stricter schedules for the environmental review process and make inter-state permits for electricity transmission easier to get. This provision will make it easier for energy produced in the windy Great Plains states to supply high-demand, low-supply areas further away.
This bill will be the final, crucial step in America’s largest effort to confront the climate crisis. With it, we stand a fighting chance at decarbonizing our economy, creating good jobs, and averting environmental disaster. Without it, our well-intentioned investments will languish in an unnecessarily complex regulatory bureaucracy. Before the end of this session, when Democrats lose their trifecta, Congress must pass permitting reform legislation.
Asher Maxwell is a staff writer for On the Record. He is currently a freshman in the College studying government from Nashville, Tennessee. Asher is particularly interested in elections, economics, and environmental policy.