A US Senate bill proposing to speed up the permitting process for energy projects has received a mixed response from clean energy industry and advocacy groups.
The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 was introduced yesterday by four US Senators, two Republican and two Democrat, and proposes accelerated permitting and environmental review processes for energy projects.
The bill would reform permitting rules for data centres, grid infrastructure and both renewable energy and fossil fuel projects. It would include provisions to require data centre operators to pay for transmission costs associated with their facilities
“America is entering a new era of energy demand,” said senator Martin Heinrich (Democrat, New Mexico), one of the lawmakers who proposed the bill. “We have an enormous opportunity to build big things again to meet this moment—to build more generation, expand our grid, create more jobs, lower energy costs, and make sure we have the energy we need to compete.”
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Senator Shelley Moore Capito (Republican, West Virginia) claimed that the bill “will transform our nation’s ability to power our economy and fuel future growth, while continuing to protect the land, water, and wildlife we all cherish.”
Reacting to the proposal, environmental group the Sierra Club expressed concern that the bill may expedite more oil and gas infrastructure projects under the current US administration, which has been hostile to renewables.
Sierra Club chief program officer, Holly Bender, said: “There is no task more urgent than building clean energy and transmission … We are still reviewing this new 400+ page package. But this bill cannot guarantee that more wind and solar projects will actually get built as long as the Trump administration continues to block them at every turn.”
She said the proposal “would create immediate benefits for oil and gas companies during a period of unprecedented growth in oil and gas infrastructure and record-breaking industry profits”.
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)—the leading US solar trade body—welcomed the permitting proposal.
SEIA CEO and former Republican governor of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty, said: “This is exactly the kind of bipartisan action America needs to meet growing energy demand, put downward pressure on energy prices, and deploy more affordable, reliable solar and storage for American families and businesses.”
US clean energy financing platform Crux also welcomed the announcement. Its head of policy, Hasan Nazar, said the proposed bill was a “critical step in addressing the nation’s outdated energy permitting framework. Our research shows the current permitting process is slowing clean energy deployment and increasing project costs at a moment when every electron is desperately needed.”
Sandra Purohit, director of federal advocacy at E2, a representative group of US businesses, said: “We need permitting reform that works for our economy and environment—reform that gets new transmission built and clean energy projects connected quickly. That also must include ending the administration’s clean energy permit blocks, which are keeping gigawatts of the cheapest power off the grid as prices rise for everyone.”
To read the full version of this story, visit PV Tech, where it was first published.
