US Senate Proposes New Permitting Framework. Should It Become Law?

A bipartisan group of senators, including Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, has introduced a bill that would rewrite how the federal government approves energy projects, from power lines to solar and wind farms to gas pipelines. The bill, called the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, won't come up for a vote until after the midterm elections. A study from the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions estimates that in regions covering about half of U.S. electricity demand, the changes could cut grid costs by $7 billion, lower residential electric bills by $1.1 billion, and reduce power-sector carbon emissions by 9 percent by 2035. Nationwide, it projects $125 billion in grid savings and $19 billion in lower household electric bills between 2026 and 2040.

The bill would also narrow environmental review requirements and change how states and tribes can object to projects on water-quality grounds, giving them only a year to act and limiting the reasons they can use to reject a project. Critics, including climate writer Bill McKibben and groups like Oil Change International, argue the bill would make it easier to lock in long-term permits for fossil fuel projects and reduce the ability of communities and future administrations to reverse them.

For homeowners, this bill does not create any new rebate or incentive program to act on now. Its relevance is longer-term: faster permitting for transmission lines and renewable energy could, if the projections hold, mean somewhat lower electric bills down the road. Nothing here requires or offers anything for your house today.