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www.citizensclimatelobby.org

Why Clean Energy Permitting �Reform Is An Important Climate Priority

November 17, 2022

Presentation Slides:�cclusa.org/permitting-reform-slides

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Three Learning Goals

Understand what ‘clean energy permitting reform’ means and why it’s important

Learn what reforms CCL supports and how CCL will engage in the process

Learn about clean energy permitting and why it’s included in CCL’s expanded policy agenda

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About Our Speakers

Dana Nuccitelli

Research Coordinator for Citizens’ Climate Lobby

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Tony Sirna

Vice President of Organizational Strategy

for Citizens’ Climate Lobby

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Our Agenda

What is permitting?

What’s the problem?

Potential EJ benefits from fixing it

What solutions does CCL support?

How CCL will engage

Why is this important?

CCL’s Expanded Agenda

• Carbon pricing
• Healthy Forests
• Building Efficiency & Electrification
• Clean Energy Permitting Reform

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For more details come to the December 3-4 Conference: cclusa.org/fallconference

Clean Energy Permitting Reform is Important

It’s time to build America’s clean energy economy. Permitting reform will make that possible by unlocking clean energy infrastructure that’s waiting to be built, and by getting that clean energy to American households and businesses.

If we don’t start building clean energy infrastructure faster, we will only achieve about 20% of the potential carbon pollution reduction from climate policy that is already in place.

(Princeton REPEAT Project)

only�20%

What is “Permitting”?

• A permit is an official authorization to begin a construction project
• Permits protect communities, workers, and environments from undue harm
• Obtaining permits adds time and expense to projects of all kinds

Different Types of Permits

• Big projects generally require federal, state, and local permits
• Federal permits control impacts on issues of national importance like air & water quality, wildlife, water resources
• Local permits generally deal with zoning and land use

National Environmental Policy Act

• NEPA ensures federal agencies assess project environmental impacts via:
• Categorical Exclusions (CE)
• Environmental Assessments (EA)
• Environmental Impact Reports (EIA)
• EIAs are required for less than 1% of federal projects, but can significantly delay project permitting

How Slow is Permitting?

• Right now we’re only expanding our electric transmission infrastructure at 1% per year. We need to speed that up
• We need to triple our capacity to transmit clean electricity by 2050
• It takes agencies an average of 4.5 years to complete an EIS for big energy projects
• Transmission line projects generally �take 5–15 years to complete

The Problem

• Solar and wind projects are set to explode thanks to IRA tax credits
• Big wind & solar farms tend to be located away from households and businesses that need clean power
• Transmission lines are needed to connect the two

Critical for meeting emissions targets

• Permitting reform is critical if we’re going to make the clean energy transition happen fast enough to meet our climate targets.
• If we don’t start building clean energy infrastructure faster, we will only achieve about 20% of the potential carbon pollution reduction from the Inflation Reduction Act.

Importance for Environmental Justice

• Air pollution causes about 250,000 deaths per year in the U.S., especially in disadvantaged communities
• Slow permitting could result in thousands of needless premature deaths
• Most new infrastructure now is for clean energy; demand for fossil fuels is peaking

Failed Reform is Bad for Environmental Justice

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369

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Failed Reform is Bad for Environmental Justice

The Calculus

1. We need to build clean energy infrastructure faster for the climate
2. We need to build clean energy infrastructure faster for disadvantaged communities
3. Most of what’s being slowed down by the permitting process is clean energy

Increasing Calls For Action

“We need permitting reform so that wind and solar energy from rural Minnesota gets to cities and towns across this country.”

-Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN)

“There's no question that we need both permitting reform and a kind of change in our attitude around this stuff.”

-Bill McKibben

“We all agree, permitting reform needs to be done, and I think we can get it across the finish line.”

-Rep Curtis (R-UT)

“Congress could speed up transmission construction by becoming the ultimate referee on interstate power lines, but so far lawmakers have declined to step into that role.”

-Grist Magazine

Measures to Speed Up Permitting

• Bipartisan infrastructure bill and IRA law changes and funding
• FERC rulemakings
• Federal law changes by Congress
• This is where CCL comes in!

CCL Supports Policies That

• Add to America’s capacity to transmit clean electricity
• Speed up the approval of clean energy projects that are waiting to be built
• Allow communities to make their voices heard on the environmental and other impacts of proposed energy projects.

Political Realities

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CCL also recognizes the political realities of our democratic system, which forces compromise among lawmakers who have a range of priorities. As we begin to work on this issue, we will evaluate any permitting reform proposals in the context of our principles outlined here, and we will do our best to support options closest to our ideal approach.

How CCL Will Engage

• Lobbying Congress
• Media
• Grasstops outreach

Note: we don’t expect to focus on permitting reform while doing grassroots outreach

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Where To Go For More Information

• Brookings: How does permitting for clean energy infrastructure work?
• Yale Climate Connections: Permitting: America’s next big climate conundrum
• Institute for Progress: How to Stop Environmental Review from Harming the Environment
• Princeton: Electricity Transmission is Key to Unlock the Full Potential of the Inflation Reduction Act
• Tool: Federal Environmental Review and Authorization Inventory | Permitting Dashboard
• EarthJustice: Comments on the Manchin-Schumer permitting reform package
• Sierra Club: Yes, We Need to Build a Lot More Renewable Energy a Lot Faster. But Scrapping Environmental Laws Isn’t the Way to Do That

Thank You!

Dana Nuccitelli | Tony Sirna | Brett Cease

E-mail: dana.nuccitelli@citizensclimate.org� tony@citizensclimate.org� brett@citizensclimate.org

@dana1981 @SirnaTony @brettcease

Questions? Join us in Nerd Corner: cclusa.org/nerd-corner

www.citizensclimatelobby.org