Despite deep political divisions, lawmakers said Tuesday they believe Congress can reach bipartisan consensus on permitting reform legislation that could make it easier for electric cooperatives to modernize their systems to meet growing demand for electricity.
“The talks have begun,” Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, said at a POLITICO energy policy event sponsored by NRECA.
“If we put it off for another Congress, we’re going to fall way behind the rest of the world [in generating power]. And the United States has got to lead, not follow.”
It can take six or seven years to get a permit to build a new power plant, said Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas, vice chairman of the energy subcommittee.
“Our grid needs to be bolstered up,” he said.
NRECA CEO Jim Matheson said reform is drawing increased support from both political parties as lawmakers realize that permitting delays affect all types of energy projects, whether it’s building a solar facility or a natural gas plant.
“We’ve got to make the process more rational and reasonable,” he said. “For co-ops, it’s our North Star to provide reliable, affordable power for everybody.”
Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., said Democrats and Republicans agree that America needs to generate more power to meet increasing demand, which is coming from big data centers, artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and more.
“We don’t have the grid to get power where we need it,” he said. “We all have the self-interest to accelerate that.”
He said senators came “very close” to reaching a deal on permitting reform in the last Congress and are taking it up again.
“I feel pretty optimistic,” said Hickenlooper, who serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Along with permitting reform, Congress and the Trump administration must get rid of unworkable regulations that hinder the ability to generate enough power to meet the nation’s needs, Matheson said. The worst one of those, he said, is the Environmental Protection Agency’s power plant rule.
The EPA rule seeks to aggressively limit greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal and new natural gas power plants. NRECA believes it mandates inadequately demonstrated technology and unachievable emissions limits, jeopardizing affordable, reliable electricity by forcing premature plant closures while making it harder to permit, site and build critical new power plants.
“We think it puts electric co-ops and our electric grid in extreme jeopardy,” Matheson said. “The sooner we get that rule off the books, the better.”
Erin Kelly is a staff writer for NRECA.