The lame-duck session in Congress is scrambling to get last-minute deals done, and NOW is probably our last best chance to get urgently needed permitting reform enacted. When Republicans take full power in January, the prospects for permitting reform that benefits clean energy will likely drop precipitously.

For years, clean energy development and transmission projects have been hindered by bureaucratic red tape at all levels of government. Only 55 miles of high-voltage transmission were built last year, which is almost 90% less than what was constructed between 2020 and 2022—and much less than what’s needed to accommodate growing electricity demand and get over 11,600 pending clean energy projects up and running.

In short, permitting reform is urgently needed.

Any permitting reform deal with a chance of passing will be a messy compromise between clean energy and fossil fuel interests that leaves no one completely satisfied. But when you are starving, half a loaf is better than no loaf.

The bill with the greatest chance of passing has faced opposition from most environmental groups (e.g., LCV, Sierra Club, and the NRDC) with good reason, but not all (e.g., Citizens Climate Lobby). It’s possible that some are rethinking their positions in view of the election results. We’d like to see everybody work together NOW to get the best possible bill passed.

There is good reason to think that permitting reform will benefit the clean energy industry more than the fossil fuel industry. Consider the following:

• Clean energy is set to account for 96% of the new power plants built in America in 2024.
• The International Energy Agency’s World Energy Investment 2024 report found that global investment in clean energy dominates investment in fossil fuels by a factor of two.
• More transmission lines will bring costs down, and further clean energy development will bring electricity prices down.
• There are 2,500 GW-worth of projects still waiting for their chance to be approved and connected to the grid, a number of which are solar, wind, and battery projects.

This is no time to despair, but it’s no time to delay, either. We need Congress to get the best possible permitting deal NOW, or it may not happen at all.