WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today led a full committee hearing to examine stakeholder perspectives on improving coordination, predictability, and efficiency in the environmental review and permitting process to support a clean energy transition.

HIGHLIGHTS:

ON THE NEED TO CONNECT EXISTING CLEAN ENERGY TO THE GRID:

“A recent study by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab found that our nation has two terawatts of renewable energy capacity—such as solar, wind, and battery storage—waiting to connect to the grid. To put that figure in perspective, the total capacity of all existing power plants on the U.S. grid is currently 1.25 terawatts. That’s also almost double the amount of energy capacity we have today. Unfortunately, that same study also found that only one in five transmission projects seeking to connect to the grid from 2000 to 2017, were operational by the end of 2022. This report doesn’t account for the clean energy investments that are in development now as a result of the federal investments passed last Congress.”

PRIORITIES FOR BIPARTISAN PERMITTING LEGISLATION:

“To me, a bipartisan permitting reform package must do three things. First, it must result in lower emissions, not higher emissions, across our economy, while also maintaining the fundamental protections provided by our nation's bedrock environmental statutes. Second, a bipartisan permitting proposal must support early and meaningful community engagement in the development of projects, especially engagement with historically disadvantaged and underserved communities. Third, the legislation must provide businesses, in particular clean energy businesses, with certainty and predictability to help unlock economic growth and job creation across our country.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY INPUT:

CHAIRMAN CARPER:

“All three of you mention the importance of early engagement with communities, and I couldn’t agree more … would each of you briefly provide us with an example of when early engagement with communities helped to mitigate community concerns and improve outcomes, while also avoiding delays or challenges later in the review process? How can the federal government support that early engagement?”

DANA JOHNSON, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY AND FEDERAL POLICY, WE ACT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:

“In the Port of Savannah [Georgia] there was a plan to build a large energy storage facility there where the local government, industry and community worked together early to envision what that project would look like … because of early engagement with frontline groups that project was able to be scoped out, planned and permitted in a way that moved forward easily and in a way that communities embraced.”

CHRISTINA HAYES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMERICANS FOR A CLEAN ENERGY GRID

“The Morongo tribe has a transmission line from Southern California Edison cited through it and Southern California Edison was looking to upgrade the line and a creative equity financing arrangement was put together and approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to allow the tribe to see some community benefits from the infrastructure that is being built through their lands.”

Click here to watch Chairman Carper’s first round of questions.

Click here to watch Chairman Carper’s second round of questions.

Click here to watch Chairman Carper’s opening statement.

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