America Needs Energy. Permitting Reform Can Help Deliver It.
Demand for energy is rising across the economy, but the infrastructure needed to meet that demand is not being built fast enough. Modernizing permitting can help address bottlenecks that are slowing investment, increasing costs, and limiting growth.
Rising Demand
- U.S. natural gas demand increased 56% between 2010 and 2022 while pipeline capacity grew only 27%.
- North American natural gas demand is forecast to grow ~51 Bcf/d from 2025-2035 (from 130 Bcf/d to 181 Bcf/d).
What's at Stake
Energy Affordability
- Americans feel the effects of infrastructure shortages through higher energy costs and greater price volatility.
- Demand is growing faster than the systems needed to deliver energy to homes and businesses.
- Permitting reform can help reduce bottlenecks and support more affordable, reliable energy.
Permitting Certainty
- America has the private capital, workforce, and technology needed to build. What investors need is certainty.
- Lengthy reviews, shifting requirements, and persistent litigation create risk that discourages investment and increases project costs.
- A predictable permitting process gives companies the confidence to invest, build, and deliver projects on schedule.
American Competitiveness
- Winning the AI race, growing domestic manufacturing, and strengthening America's economy all depend on abundant and reliable energy.
- Other countries are moving faster to build the infrastructure that supports economic growth and technological leadership.
- Modernized permitting can help ensure the United States remains the world's leading destination for investment and innovation.
Energy Security
- Energy security is national security.
- Modern infrastructure strengthens supply chains, improves reliability, and helps America support allies around the world.
- Building critical infrastructure more efficiently enhances resilience at home and strengthens America's strategic position abroad.
A System Built for Delay
- Major federal permitting reviews routinely take four to five years before construction can begin.
- Nearly 30% of projects requiring an Environmental Impact Statement face litigation, even though agencies prevail in most cases.
- Critical infrastructure projects have been delayed, canceled, or made significantly more expensive despite receiving regulatory approvals.
An All-of-the-Above Energy Future
Permitting reform benefits every form of energy infrastructure. Natural gas, wind, solar, nuclear energy, electricity transmission, energy storage, and other critical infrastructure projects often face many of the same permitting challenges.
Modernizing permitting can help accelerate deployment of all energy sources while maintaining strong environmental protections and public engagement. An all-of-the-above energy strategy depends on a permitting system capable of delivering projects in a timely and predictable manner.
A Blueprint to Build
The National Petroleum Council's report, Bottleneck to Breakthrough: A Permitting Blueprint to Build, provides a practical roadmap to modernize permitting while maintaining strong environmental protections and meaningful public engagement.
The 10 Recommendations
- Clarify NEPA's Purpose and Scope
Focus environmental reviews on direct project impacts and provide greater certainty in environmental reviews. - Reform Environmental Litigation
Streamline environmental litigation, improve transparency, and reduce unnecessary delays while preserving accountability. - Limit Clean Water Act Section 401 Reviews
Ensure reviews remain focused on water quality impacts and are completed on predictable timelines. - Expand General Permits and Categorical Exclusions
Allow routine, proven-safe activities to move through a faster and more efficient approval process. - Extend Nationwide Permit Renewal Periods
Increase permit certainty by extending nationwide permit renewals from five years to ten years.
- Expand FERC's Blanket Certificate Program
Broaden eligibility and modernize thresholds to accelerate routine infrastructure upgrades and expansions. - Enforce Federal Authorization Schedules
Require agencies to make decisions on predictable timelines and improve accountability. - Eliminate Duplicative Reviews
Improve coordination among agencies and reduce redundant permitting requirements. - Improve Energy System Coordination
Accelerate development of electric generation, transmission, and natural gas infrastructure needed to support economic growth and rising energy demand. - Create Qualified Infrastructure Authorizations
Establish a new pathway for projects that meet predefined environmental standards, allowing faster approvals while maintaining strong oversight and accountability.