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Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024

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Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleA bill to reform leasing, permitting, and judicial review for certain energy and minerals projects, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)EPRA
Announced inthe 118th United States Congress
Legislative history

The Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 (S.4753) is a bill in the United States Senate to reform the permitting system for fossil fuel and electric power transmission development.[1] It is one of the several iterations of permitting reform brought forth by the 118th Congress. The bill was introduced by Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY) in July 2024.[2]

The last action on the bill was taken in August. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee cleared the bill from the committee with a 15-4 margin and only one additional amendment.[3]

Legislative background

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Energy permitting reform is the idea of altering regulations and rules to make it easier to build energy infrastructure in the United States.[4] Currently, it takes a long time for energy infrastructure, such as electric transmission, to be built.[5] This is particularly concerning as we are transitioning away from fossil fuels to clean energy sources due to climate change. For example, when there is not enough transmission to connect clean energy to the grid, they enter "interconnection queues", a waiting list for clean energy to essentially get turned on.[6] The interconnection queues have gotten longer over the years.[6]

Energy permitting reform is also important as electricity demand and costs rise. Such demands are driven by things, such as climate change (e.g. increased electrification) and artificial intelligence use.[7]

The primary debates in the energy permitting reform space center around two questions.

  1. How much deregulation (or policy change) should occur?
  2. How should policy changes be applied to clean energy sources vs fossil fuel production?

For the first question, energy permitting reform would likely alter the National Environmental Policy Act, one of the most foundational environmental legislation in United States history. Such changes could have unintended consequences on other environmental issues if not carefully crafted.

For the second question, many permitting reform legislation increase deployment opportunities for both clean energy and fossil fuel production. Many are critical about whether the tradeoff to make electrification easier and increase clean infrastructure, such as offshore wind production, is worth also increasing fossil fuel production, like mining and liquified natural gas.[8]

History

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The Act was introduced by Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY) on July 22, 2024.[9][10]

The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources passed the bill on July 31, 2024 with broad bipartisan support, 15–4.[11] Only one proposed amendment was included, one added by Senator Steve Daines (R‑MT) intended to speed up reviews for forestry development.[3] The bill was assessed as unlikely to appear on the floor before the 2024 United States elections due to Democratic opposition to speeding up construction of fossil fuel projects and Republican reluctance to give Democrats a public victory, but the measure could receive more attention during the lame-duck session.[1]

Main policy provisions

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As stated in the legislation, the primary purpose of the bill is to reduce the barriers to energy deployment and mining activities.[2][12] The bill is described as a bipartisan compromise.[3]

Some examples of specific policy provisions include:

  • establishing a 150-day statute of limitation for judicial review[13]
  • requiring the Department of Interior to increase leasing, extend permitting, and streamline federal permitting for gas, oil, coal, geothermal, and offshore wind[14]
  • addressing the three main barriers to transmission development: planning, permitting, and paying[13]
  • modifying regulatory requirements for mining, liquefied natural gas, geothermal, and hydropower[14]

Reactions and criticisms

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Reactions have been mixed, with centrist environmental advocates and energy industry groups—both renewable and fossil fuel—supportive,[15][16] while other environmental groups and some climate scientists oppose.[15]

The nonpartisan Citizens' Climate Lobby supports the legislation: "Expert analysis from the most trusted climate and energy modelers finds this legislation could reduce America's climate pollution up to 25% by 2050. That means Congress could notch a huge climate win by passing this bill!"[17] Centrist think tank and advocacy organization Third Way published model predictions that the EPRA would lower total emissions, even in the worst case, describing electrical transmission capacity as a bottleneck for development of electrical generation facilities, 95% of them clean.[15]

Other groups that support the legislation include the Niskanen Center,[18] Bipartisan Policy Center,[19] and Solar Energy Industries Association.[20] The National Ocean Industries Association praised provisions that would help oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, while the Solar Energy Industries Association supported provisions that would aid the transmission projects required to carry electrical power from generation facilities to users.[16]

A number of environmental groups oppose the act for opening public lands and offshore waters to oil and gas leasing and aiding the approval of natural gas export facilities (liquefied natural gas terminals), a position represented by Senator Bernie Sanders.[3] For example, the Sierra Club has stated that "Those who promote this kind of so-called 'permitting reform' claim that it's necessary to accelerate the deployment of clean energy, but in truth this is nothing more than yet another attempt by fossil fuel industry boosters to give handouts for polluters at the expense of our communities and the climate. We urge Congress to put forward real solutions to build a clean energy economy, and not pair those reforms with more attempts to pad the pockets of fossil fuel executives under the guise of reducing emissions."[21] In addition, 300+ environmental groups signed a letter against this legislation with similar concerns.[22] A number of climate scientists, such as Mark Z. Jacobson, have also offered predictions that the EPRA would increase global emissions by way of fossil fuel exports more than the renewable energy and transmission improvements would reduce domestic power sector emissions,[15][23][24] opinions reflected by proponents' descriptions of the bill as a compromise, with Liesl Clark at the University of Michigan calling it not "exactly what the enviros would want. I don't think it's exactly what the other side, broadly speaking, wants either You get to good legislation when there’s something in it for everybody, but nothing there is everyone’s wishlist."[15]

Other concerns, mostly from conservatives, include the way the bill handles states' rights. Specifically, some are concerned that it oversteps state jurisdiction.[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b Vu, Nancy (July 31, 2024). "Major bipartisan permitting overhaul bill clears Senate committee - Washington Examiner". Archived from the original on August 15, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "S.4753 - Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024". Congress.Gov. Archived from the original on November 13, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Brugger, Kelsey (August 1, 2024). "What's next for the permitting bill?". E&E News. Archived from the original on September 26, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  4. ^ Nilsen, Ella (May 30, 2023). "What is permitting reform? The critical energy provision buried in debt-ceiling negotiations". CNN. Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  5. ^ Sud, Rayan; Patnaik, Sanjay. "How does permitting for clean energy infrastructure work?". Brookings.
  6. ^ a b Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. "Queued Up: Characteristics of Power Plants Seeking Transmission Interconnection". Archived from the original on October 8, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  7. ^ Plumer, Brad; Popovich, Nadja (March 14, 2024). "A New Surge in Power Use Is Threatening U.S. Climate Goals". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 16, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  8. ^ Goldfuss, Christy. "U.S. Permitting Reform: Striking the Right Balance". Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  9. ^ "Manchin, Barrasso Release Bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Legislation". U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. July 22, 2024. Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  10. ^ "Barrasso-Manchin Energy Permitting Reform Act receives support". Wyoming Tribune Eagle. August 8, 2024. Archived from the original on September 5, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  11. ^ Vu, Nancy (July 31, 2024). "Daily on Energy: Permitting reform advances, RISEE Act scooplet, and oil rises on Middle East news - Washington Examiner". Archived from the original on August 12, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  12. ^ "Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024: Electricity Provisions". Congressional Research Service. October 4, 2024. Archived from the original on November 10, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Craddock, Elizabeth; Noll, Elizabeth; Viola, Beth. "Energy Chairman Manchin's Permitting Bill Moves Through Committee in Careful Balancing Act". Holland & Knight. Archived from the original on November 24, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  14. ^ a b Fishman, Xan; Jacobs, John; Elizalde, Daniel; Pickford, Lori. "The Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024: What's in the Bill". Bipartisan Policy Center. Archived from the original on September 2, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  15. ^ a b c d e Ericson, Sean (November 15, 2024). "Environmentalists, Industry Divided Over Energy Permitting Bill". Great Lakes Now. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Vu, Nancy (July 30, 2024). "Industry groups coalesce around Manchin-Barrasso permitting reform bill - Washington Examiner". Archived from the original on August 11, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  17. ^ Citizens' Climate Lobby. "The Energy Permitting Reform Act means big climate progress".
  18. ^ a b La Joie, Conrad. "Why the Energy Permitting Reform Act is a necessary step forward". Niskanen Center.
  19. ^ Horton, Spenser. "BPC Applauds Momentum on Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024". Bipartisan Policy Center.
  20. ^ Lyons, Morgan. "Solar and Storage Industry Statement on Markup of Bipartisan Permitting Reform". Solar Energy Industries Association.
  21. ^ Sorour, Mahyar. "Sierra Club: Congress Should Reject Fossil Fuel Boosters' Latest Permitting Scheme". Sierra Club.
  22. ^ Nolan, Geoffrey; Van Hoesen, Shannon. "360+ Climate & Environmental Organizations Urge Senate to Reject Dirty Permitting Deal". Earthjustice. Archived from the original on November 27, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  23. ^ "A Letter from U.S. Scientists on the Climate Impacts of the Energy Permitting Reform Act" (PDF). November 9, 2024.
  24. ^ "Renewable & Appropriate Energy Laboratory | Leading Scientists Warn Energy Permitting Reform Act (EPRA) Spells Climate Disaster". Retrieved December 10, 2024.
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