⚡ A Quick Q&A on permitting and the clean energy transition with ... James Coleman
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Q&A
⚡ A Quick Q&A on permitting and the clean energy transition with ... James Coleman
President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, a climate and clean energy law that could allocate over a trillion dollars—or more than $8,000 per household—for new energy technologies. This massive investment's success hinges on the speed at which projects are approved for construction. Unlike traditional energy sources like coal and oil, which helped build the modern world due to easy transportation via rail, ship, and road, renewable sources like solar and wind require the construction of new power lines to reach markets. Similarly, other clean alternatives such as hydrogen and carbon-captured natural gas rely heavily on new infrastructure development.
The big question: Will we give ourselves permission to build?
To find out why energy technology implementation seems to be such a challenge in and what we can do about, I asked James Coleman a few quick questions. Coleman is a nonresident senior fellow at AEI, and a law professor Southern Methodist University. His research focuses on energy policy and regulation. He’s also the author of the recent analysis “Permitting the Energy Transition.”
1/ Can you elaborate on the specific infrastructure challenges clean energy faces and why these are more significant than those faced by fossil fuels? Which clean energy technologies pose the biggest challenge in terms of permitting and why?
Coal and oil built the modern world because they are inexpensive to transport and store, so you can send them where they’re needed by existing roads, rails, and waterways and store them to avoid shortages. By contrast, cleaner technologies, especially electricity, are completely dependent on power-lines to bring them to market. And because they are much more expensive to store, the system has to be sized to meet any peak in demand.
Several kinds of clean energy projects also face unique challenges. Linear infrastructure projects, such as power-lines for renewable energy, and pipelines for hydrogen and carbon dioxide, are particularly difficult to site because they often need approval from each jurisdiction they cross. Nuclear projects have historically attracted opposition that makes them harder to build. And all the mines we need to drive clean energy supply chains for copper, nickel, lithium, and critical minerals have always been challenging to site given their significant environmental consequences.
2/ What are the main hurdles in the permitting process for new clean energy projects, and how do these obstacles compare to those encountered by traditional energy projects?
The biggest hurdles very much depend on the individual project. Projects that are on federal lands or federal waters will generally need a National Environmental Policy Act review. Interstate power lines or carbon dioxide pipelines will also need approval from each state that they cross. These projects can also be held up by local permitting challenges below the state level. Depending on the location, projects can also face a variety of challenges under the Endangered Species Act or the National Historic Preservation Act.
3/ How did we get to this place where it is so hard to build in this country, either cheaply or quickly?
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