Episode
It is too hard to build things in America: Can permitting reform begin a new era for energy investment?
- Podcast
- Energy Gang
- Published
- May 25, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3685
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
America is facing an energy supply crisis created by surging demand for electricity from data centres. A transition to a lower-carbon system requires massive investment in new clean energy infrastructure. But legal and regulatory structures mean that developing projects in the US is often an uncertain, drawn-out and expensive process. To take just one example, new transmission infrastructure is vital for connecting renewable generation to concentrations of electricity demand. But the last time the US added more than 1,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines in a year was 2016. In this episode, host Ed Crooks is joined by Representative Scott Peters to discuss what Congress can do to help fix that. Scott is a Democratic member of the House of Representatives and a co-sponsor of the bipartisan CERTAIN Act, a new bill that attempts to take some of the risk and unpredictability out of the legal procedures for project development. Along with regular contributor Melissa Lott, Partner for Energy Technologies at Microsoft, they discuss whether reform of the permitting system can really help expedite investment in new energy projects. And they assess how likely it is that Congress will be able to make a deal and get a more streamlined system passed into law. The conversation starts with NEPA, the National Environmental Policy Act. Passed in 1970, it is the bedrock for environmental permitting for infrastructure projects. It is also the most litigated environmental statute in the US. A major project can take four years to prepare an environmental impact statement, with another four years of litigation to follow. As Scott points out, when NEPA was written there were few other environmental protections. Now there are dozens, yet the review process has only grown more bu…