America is facing a simple truth with complex consequences: Electricity demand is growing for the first time in three decades, and our current electricity system is not prepared to meet it.
We need more power to fuel a growing economy, and more infrastructure to support advanced manufacturing, data centers, and domestic supply chains.
But today, even when projects are ready to go, the federal permitting system stands in the way. That may soon change: Key Democratic leaders have resumed negotiations with their Republican colleagues on a deal to modernize these regulatory processes, following a weeks-long hiatus sparked by the Trump administration’s offshore wind pause.
Across the political spectrum, there is broad agreement that the United States needs faster, smarter permitting processes. But we’re missing the follow-through. Only Congress can fundamentally and permanently fix federal permitting, and it will take bipartisan action to achieve an appropriate balance between speed of execution and safeguarding environmental standards.
Our economic future depends upon lawmakers acting now, because permitting reform is not a partisan issue; it’s an American competitiveness issue.
The U.S. energy system is undergoing rapid change. Power demand is outpacing supply, driven by increasing demand from reshored manufacturing, electrification, and the digital economy. Forecasted electricity demand growth over the next five years has skyrocketed to more than six times the projections that were made in 2022.
At the same time, businesses are investing billions of dollars in new energy projects — clean generation, transmission, storage, and firm power — that can meet this demand while ensuring reliable power. Corporate buyers have voluntarily procured at least 127 gigawatts of clean energy in the U.S. since 2014, an amount comparable to the entire electricity capacity of Spain.
But too many of these projects have been stalled for years, sometimes decades, by an outdated and unpredictable permitting process. The result? Higher costs, slower economic growth, and unnecessary risk to our energy security.
CEBA represents the nation’s largest clean energy buyers — from global manufacturers to household-name technology and retail companies powering our economy — that collectively procure massive amounts of clean energy to run their domestic operations. Our members are not asking for shortcuts or weaker environmental protections. They are asking for regulatory certainty, improved coordination, and more efficient timelines that meet the moment.
Permitting reform should be guided by a few common-sense principles.
First, decisions should be timely and predictable. Developers, communities, and investors alike benefit when agencies are required to act within clear time frames. Reviews are critical to protecting the environment, but they must be specific and relevant to the permit in question, and avoid creating the opportunity for frivolous legal challenges. Endless reviews create uncertainty that increases costs, deters investment, and hinders progress.
Second, processes should be coordinated, efficient, and transparent. Projects are too often stalled due to lack of agency coordination and action. We can no longer risk holding up critical infrastructure development as we watch other countries rapidly develop and capture industries that need to stay in the U.S.
Third, reform must apply across the energy system, not just to a single sector. We need generation of all types to meet growing electricity demand, as well as transmission lines to move power where it’s needed, so we can grow in the most cost-effective way. And we need infrastructure that strengthens reliability and resilience. Picking technology winners or losers via the permitting reform process undermines the progress needed to enable economic growth. Today, the U.S. doesn’t generate enough electrons to capture the 21st century industries that will drive economic growth. To power these industries, we need every option at our disposal.
The good news: Bipartisan agreement on many of these principles already exists. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have acknowledged that permitting delays are a major barrier to energy deployment and economic growth. What’s needed now is the political will to turn agreement into action. If we want more energy, more jobs, and more growth, the path forward is clear. With leadership resuming negotiations — Congress can deliver a bipartisan permitting reform deal that will support American innovation and continued prosperity.
Our members span industries, regions, and political perspectives, and they are united by one goal: ensuring the U.S. has the energy infrastructure it needs to continue leading on the global scale.
Permitting reform doesn’t mean lowering standards or permitting irresponsibly. It means modernizing a system built for a different era. It means aligning regulatory processes with today’s economic realities and tomorrow’s energy needs.
America has always risen to the occasions that require pragmatism over partisanship. This is one of them.
Rich Powell is the CEO of CEBA, a business association that activates energy buyers and partners to advance low-cost, reliable, carbon emissions-free global electricity systems. The opinions represented in this contributed article are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the views of Latitude Media or any of its staff.
