Green groups will really be like 'you believe in permitting reform? that pales in effectiveness to my strategy, only permitting the good projects' and then not permit the good projects

The Cardinal-Hickory transmission line would complete a plan to connect 24 gigwatts of clean electricity projects to the grid. It has been blocked by an injunction for the second time in five years and exemplifies the 'litigation doom loop,' writes to Arnab Datta &…

“Unfortunately, Congress has thus far shied away from addressing the crucial roadblock illustrated by the Cardinal-Hickory saga: the litigation doom loop.”

⁦Arnab Datta⁩ ⁦James Coleman⁩ slowboring.com/p/we-must-end-…

The permitting status quo is really bad

slowboring.com/p/we-must-end-…

Many years review times and heavy litigation is the result of a legal environment created by Congress, judicial rulings, and decisions made by federal agencies. We can not switch to cleaner and cheaper energy if this legal gauntlet is not greatly limited.

Great new post in Slow Boring by Arnab Datta and James Coleman!

Excessive litigation is the heart of the problem with NEPA and many permitting delays.

And clean energy increasingly gets the short end of the stick.

x.com/AlecStapp/stat…

The rare pairing of an infuriating problem and a common sense solution.

Thread on Arnab Datta and James Coleman’s piece in Slow Boring 👇

Construction Physics is a national treasure and the president should give Brian Potter a medal or czar job or something.

Wanna see what economic self-sabotage looks like?

The “litigation doom loop” is a huge problem for clean energy deployment.

Solar projects that receive the strictest level of NEPA environmental review have the highest litigation rate:

64%

By contrast, fossil fuel projects only have a 32% litigation rate.

Vaccines are miraculous.

Don't listen to the doomers.

Projected global warming has fallen by a third since 2014.

Progress on climate change is possible with public & private investment in clean technology.

Good news on permitting reform!

The Department of Energy is giving a categorical exclusion from NEPA environmental review to:

- transmission projects that use existing rights of way

- solar projects on disturbed lands

- energy storage projects on disturbed lands

It’s time to put an end to the NIMBY non-profit industrial complex.

There are 100s of example like this where non-profits have taken it upon themselves to stop much needed development in the name of their mission. In reality, it hurts their mission and everyone around them.

If headline editors would just add “using NEPA” to every headline where it applies we would have real permitting reform within 3 months.

Frankly they are doing the world a disservice by not adding those two words every time.

I am once again asking others states to learn from Texas how to build infrastructure.

Reminder: tomorrow at noon, we're hosting Statecraft live: How can governments shape markets for drugs, or create new ones? lu.ma/kqx9gr60

Fun chatting with Santi Ruiz and even more fun getting a chance to see the great archive photos he pulled

2020:

Sierra Club sues to stop a transmission line from brining clean hydropower from Canada to Maine

2024:

Sierra Club sues the Maine government for not doing enough to combat climate change

In 1944, Congress authorized ~$12 billion for the Manhattan Project (in today’s dollars).

But only 8 congressmen knew they were funding the bomb.

New Statecraft with reporter Catie Edmondson, on hiding big secrets from Congress.
statecraft.pub/p/how-to-hide-…