Clean energy loves the permitting bill. Green groups hate it

A bipartisan group of senators has written a federal permitting bill meant to fix one of the biggest bottlenecks in building energy projects: slow, open-ended environmental reviews that can drag on for years and add significant cost. The bill sets firm deadlines for those reviews, limits lawsuits that can stall projects indefinitely, and curbs a president's ability to block permits for political reasons. Supporters say it should speed up transmission lines, geothermal, hydro, and virtual power plants (networks of home batteries, thermostats, and other devices that utilities can tap to balance the grid).

The part most likely to touch your own bills is how it handles data centers. Large data centers (20 megawatts or bigger) would have to pay for both the new power lines built to serve them and their share of the existing grid, rather than letting utilities spread those costs across all ratepayers. The bill also lets state regulators challenge a utility at the federal level if they think it's spending too much on local grid upgrades, which has been a major driver of rising electricity rates. Backers argue this should ease the "scarcity" pricing behind recent bill increases.

Not everyone is on board. Environmental groups worry the faster review process and limits on lawsuits will also make it easier to permit fossil fuel and mining projects, not just clean energy. The bill hasn't passed yet. If it does, most of its effects on cost and grid reliability would show up gradually, not right away.