Under the Obstacles to Energy Infrastructure project, we have built a community of practice, composed of experts, stakeholders, and policymakers, to inform federal policy development such as the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024. We also have conducted original analysis and commissioned research to better understand issues related to grid interconnection, interregional transmission, the National Environmental Policy Act, federal leasing for energy development, and local ordinances and opposition to energy development.
Each of these papers is being released this year through public webinars that will feature panels of experts, highlighting key results and placing those insights into the current policy and economic context. In a related article in this issue of Resources magazine, for instance, Emily Joiner and Arthur G. Fraas summarize a set of reports that focus on the role of the National Environmental Policy Act as an obstacle to expedited energy infrastructure.
Much has changed since we started this project two years ago. In a time of unprecedented growth in electricity demand, and policy changes that have reduced the availability of federal support for new solar and wind energy production and transmission, continued work under this project will be critical to provide information to policymakers who seek to support new energy infrastructure of all kinds.
As we kick off this next phase of our work, we see a strong and persistent need to address basic information gaps about projects to develop and inform policy interventions; provide a single clearinghouse with information about related research and happenings at the local, state, and federal levels; and increase engagement with the federal government to support bipartisan efforts to reform the US permitting system.