Surging electricity demand, aging grid infrastructure, and the promise of new clean energy technologies have created an urgent need to modernize the federal permitting process. Since 2023, C2ES has led a cross-sector effort to advance meaningful permitting reform, working with businesses, policymakers, and stakeholders to remove the barriers that are slowing investment, raising energy costs, and putting U.S. competitiveness at risk.
America’s ability to meet surging energy demand, lower electricity costs, and remain competitive in the global clean energy race depends on its ability to build, and the federal permitting process is not keeping pace. Reviews that stretch a decade or more, a lack of transparency across agencies, and a litigation environment that delays projects by nearly four years on average are making it harder and more expensive to construct the infrastructure the country urgently needs. With electricity load growth expected to increase by a factor of five, these inefficiencies are a direct threat to grid reliability, energy affordability, and U.S. economic competitiveness.
Meaningful reform enjoys broad, bipartisan support, and the solutions are well within reach. Modernizing the process—like digitizing outdated paper-based systems to strengthening early public engagement to updating judicial review—can reduce delays, build investor confidence, and deliver better outcomes for communities, developers, and government agencies alike. A permitting system designed for a prior era cannot meet the infrastructure demands of this one, and the costs of inaction will only compound.
C2ES has been working with companies in its Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC) and beyond to develop a set of policy principles in four broad categories necessary for meaningful improvements to the permitting process. These principles reflect input from BELC companies but do not necessarily represent the views of all member companies.
Effective stakeholder engagement is essential and should be considered during any revisions to the permitting process. Updating the environmental review process, including National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) review, by moving it online could make public engagement more efficient and transparent for all stakeholders, including communities, companies, and government agencies—leading to better outcomes for all parties
Congress should take steps to ensure that the process for permitting transmission infrastructure is efficient, so the private sector has the regulatory certainty it needs to invest in a reliable, affordable, and clean power grid. Greater coordination and connection between and within regions and removing barriers to grid enhancement is critical to meeting growing energy demands and maintaining national security
From pipelines to transmission lines, major linear infrastructure comes in multiple forms; all of which are critical to connecting energy from production to end users. Process improvements must be made for projects that cross state lines, as interstate transmission permitting often leads to inconsistencies and uncertainty.
The United States holds abundant critical mineral resources and maintains some of the world’s highest environmental standards for processing them. Yet of the 50 minerals identified as “critical” by the USGS in 2022, the U.S. is fully dependent on foreign suppliers for 12 and more than 50 percent reliant on imports for another 29. Expanding domestic mining and processing offers strategic economic and environmental benefits, but will require better coordination across federal agencies.
C2ES hosted an on-the-record media briefing outlining recent developments in the bipartisan negotiations and highlighting the growing momentum behind permitting reform, including from the private sector.
C2ES President Nat Keohane was joined by Roger Martella, Chief Sustainability Officer for GE Vernova and Marsden Hanna, Head of Energy and Sustainability Policy for Google to discuss the urgent need of permitting reform to scale up deployment of clean energy, meet the growing demand for electricity and harness the opportunities presented by the energy boom.
Our “Keeping the Lights On” panel discussion explored how permitting reform proposals before the 119th Congress could shape the power sector, energy affordability, and America’s competitiveness in the A.I. race — featuring both a congressional panel and an industry panel.
C2ES is closely tracking legislation aimed at streamlining environmental reviews, reducing project delays, and modernizing the approval process for energy, transmission, and other infrastructure projects, while preserving core environmental protections. Explore our analysis below.
C2ES reviews and endorses legislation that streamlines permitting while maintaining strong climate and environmental protections. We make public endorsements, issue press statements, and conduct direct stakeholder engagement, helping to build the bipartisan consensus needed to modernize America’s permitting system and unlock clean energy infrastructure investment.
Please contact press@c2es.org for any questions regarding C2ES engagement on permitting reform.