Thread by @tylerhnorris

I’ve no idea if this is the best possible permitting reform deal (& respect efforts & views of many), but at minimum you might hope to see some journalism on how we landed a bill that doesn’t address the biggest obstacles for vast majority of new generators. Crickets though. 1/6

https://twitter.com/tylerhnorris/status/1816670508479312246

As one example, Heatmap’s latest coverage doesn’t give any mention of this dynamic and states that energy wonks love the deal. (Not trying to pick on Heatmap alone.) 2/6 heatmap.news/politics/permi…

In reading coverage, I’m not sure most journalists have been informed that the vast majority of new proposed renewable generators are not hamstrung by NEPA - hence why so few identify enviro restrictions as a leading cause of project cancellation. 3/6

The big upside for new generation in the bill is greenfield transmission permitting. This is important, esp. for interregional lines. It also doesn’t implicate transmission upgrades triggered by most generators, which use existing rights of way & don’t involve fed agencies. 4/6

On addressing local zoning obstacles, it’s of course true that this isn’t fed jurisdiction, but you could easily imagine a bill that incentivizes states to streamline local permitting (e.g. “Race to the Top”). Why doesn’t the bill do anything here? 5/6

Again, I’ve no idea if this is the best achievable bill and not taking a position on the full package, and this thread will likely get me in trouble, but it would seem valuable for all of us to better understand how we landed here. /end