What a Permitting Reform Deal Could Look Like

There’s really one one good thing that could happen this year in Congress for clean energy: permitting reform. If lawmakers reached a bipartisan deal on the country’s permitting system, they could make it easier to build solar, wind, and transmission lines — as well as every other kind of infrastructure.

But will it happen? What are the obstacles to a deal? What would be in a deal? On this episode of Shift Key, Rob is joined by Daniel Palken, the director of infrastructure for energy and permitting at Arnold Ventures. They discuss the recent history of permitting reform, the policies that would probably make up a deal, and why it might be now or never for reforming the permitting system.

Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.

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You can find a full transcript of the episode here.

Mentioned:

The FREEDOM Act, which would limit the president’s ability to yank permits

Rob’s SunZia story: The Long, Strange Success Story of America’s Biggest Clean Energy Project

Why the National Historic Preservation Act falls harder on transmission projects than pipelines

Previously on Heatmap: What Is Permitting Reform? Here’s a Cheat Sheet.

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