Show notes
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribeThe proposed bipartisan federal permitting bill is 417 pages filled with extremely consequential provisions that have left the climate community some mix of excited, infuriated, and confused. In an attempt to bring some clarity, I asked Daniel Palken of Arnold Ventures, a veteran of Senate permitting fights, to walk through what’s in it. We cover the blockbuster transmission reforms, the rule making data centers pay more than their share of grid costs, the wins for geothermal, and the fossil carve-outs. Then we get into NEPA reforms that render the act toothless, limits on state water permits, and the permit-certainty sections that have lawyers worried about “forever permits.” And finally: whether it restrains Trump, why Democrats shouldn’t wait for a better deal, what the modeling says about emissions impacts, and Daniel’s odds of passage. This is a long one, folks. Buckle up.Chapters:00:00 – Intro: the bipartisan permitting bill04:15 – Why permitting reform matters12:23 – Agency staffing and capacity16:59 – Past permitting attempts20:26 – Transmission 1: planning and federal backstop28:28 – Transmission 2: who pays and grid upgrades38:17 – Data centers 1: paying more for grid access43:20 – Distributed energy and geothermal49:06 – Oil, gas, and mining provisions57:06 – Data centers 2: will they go off-grid?1:00:19 – NEPA 1: courts can’t halt projects1:08:57 – NEPA 2: the main objections1:17:10 – State water permits1:23:35 – Endangered species1:27:37 – Permit certainty 1: limits on revoking permits1:36:43 – Permit certainty 2: lawsuits and damages1:48:12 – Politics 1: Trump’s wind blockades1:52:57 – Politics 2: why not wait for a better deal?1:58:33 – Politics 3: elections, courts, and modeling2:10:57 – Politics 4: next steps and odds of passage
