It is too hard to build things in America: Can permitting reform begin a new era for energy investment?

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges of energy project development in the US and the potential for permitting reform to facilitate investment.

America is facing an energy supply crisis created by surging demand for electricity from data centres. A transition to a lower-carbon system requires massive investment in new clean energy infrastructure. But legal and regulatory structures mean that developing projects in the US is often an uncertain, drawn-out and expensive process. To take just one example, new transmission infrastructure is vital for connecting renewable generation to concentrations of electricity demand. But the last time the US added more than 1,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines in a year was 2016. In this episode, host Ed Crooks is joined by Representative Scott Peters to discuss what Congress can do to help fix that. Scott is a Democratic member of the House of Representatives and a co-sponsor of the bipartisan CERTAIN Act, a new bill that attempts to take some of the risk and unpredictability out of the legal procedures for project development. Along with regular contributor Melissa Lott, Partner for Energy Technologies at Microsoft, they discuss whether reform of the permitting system can really help expedite investment in new energy projects. And they assess how likely it is that Congress…

People in this episode

Host: Ed Crooks

Guest: Scott Peters

Topics covered

• energy investment
• permitting reform
• clean energy infrastructure
• regulatory challenges
• Congress
• environmental policy

Keywords

• energy supply crisis
• electricity demand
• transmission infrastructure
• renewable generation
• bipartisan CERTAIN Act
• NEPA
• environmental permitting

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Microsoft, Congress, CERTAIN Act, NEPA

More episodes of Energy Gang

• How AI is changing the natural gas industry · June 12, 2026 · 44 min
• The Iran war and the energy transition: what happens when the world is focused on supply security, not emissions · June 9, 2026 · 49 min
• How US utilities are adapting to a high-growth world for power demand. The head of America's largest electricity industry group explains the critical role played by regulators · May 19, 2026 · 48 min
• Stress test: the Iran war and a US grid under pressure | Live from the ACORE Finance Forum, Day two · May 14, 2026 · 1h 33m
• Data, power and dollars: financing the AI energy boom | live from the ACORE finance forum in New York · May 13, 2026 · 1h 17m
• A new toll on global energy: Can Iran permanently control the Strait of Hormuz? · May 12, 2026 · 1h 5m