We used to be able to build things

We have heard from several sources in our Future of Energy podcast that updating our nation’s energy infrastructure is vital for the U.S. to ensure affordable, reliable energy while reducing emissions, but there is a problem. The current, lengthy permitting system makes it difficult to achieve these goals. This is true whether we are talking about a new pipeline, a new high-voltage transmissions line, a new mine, a new power plant or even a rail line and widening a highway to relieve traffic congestion. This is not a secret.

Europe is well known as the champion of regulations. Over 2,500 new legal acts come our of the European Union every year, or roughly one every hour of every day (the summer time offers a brief respite). But the United State is not far behind with federal, state and community groups contributing. Just about every administration in my lifetime ahs been elected promising the cut regulations, sunset old ones and streamline government processes. How well has that been working?

On July 22, 2024, then Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY), released their long-awaited bipartisan permitting reform agreement. The Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 (EPRA) presents a crucial opportunity to accelerate and streamline the energy infrastructure permitting process that is vital for the U.S. to ensure affordable, reliable energy while reducing emissions. Unfortunately, this needed legislation did not make it through Congress.

What will it take to get stuff done, especially large capital projects? Here are a few examples that should get you thinking.

               Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant -     The first American nuclear reactor to be built from scratch in decades is sending electricity reliably to the grid, but the cost of the Georgia power plant could discourage utilities from pursuing nuclear power as a path to a carbon-free future. Georgia Power Co. announced that Unit 3 at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta, has completed testing and is now in commercial operation, seven years late and $17 billion over budget. At the recent energy and innovation summit in Pittsburg and Carnegia Melon University, Westinghouse announced plans to build 10 new nuclear plants in the US. How long will that take and how much capital will it take?

 Resolution Copper (RCM) is a joint venture owned by Rio Tinto and BHP formed to develop and operate an underground copper mine near Superior, Arizona, USA. The project targets a deep-seated porphyry copper deposit located under the now inactive Magma Mine. Rio Tinto has reported an inferred resource of 1.624 billion tons containing 1.47 percent copper and 0.037 percent molybdenum at depths exceeding 1,300 meters (0.81 mi). It sits atop Oak Flat, a land preserve sacred to several Apache Native American tribes in the region. The proposed mine contains one of the largest copper reserves in North America. The mining giants has faced a 12-year permitting battle to develop the Resolution mine, which has the potential to supply more than a quarter of the US domestic copper needs for decades.

               California High speed rail – California set out to build high-speed rail from the Bay area to Los Angeles via a statewide vote in 2008 and the issuance of $9billion in bonds. 17 years later, such plans have all but been abandoned despite recent exhortations. Instead of connecting these two population centers, the current goal is to build such rail from Modesto to Bakersfield. That hardly qualifies as a game-changer. And the cost of this intermediate spur; between $88.5billion and $127.9billion.

               US high speed internet deployment – In 2021, the Biden administration secured passage of a program with $42.5billion of funding to extend internet access to rural communities nationwide. Four years later, the number of Americans who have gained connectivity due to thie program approximates zero.

               New York City Penn Station – In New York, plans to build something fitting and functional to replace the underground mess that is Penn Station have gone precisely nowhere through five gubernatorial administrations.

               Denver 5-year plan to study how to expand Pena Blvd to DIA – Denver City Hall recently approved a five-year, $15million study mandated by NEPA to assess impacts of overdue expansion of Pena Boulevard. This should not be that complicated to add some lanes across the prairie. Instead of adding some extra lanes and bus rapid transit and the RTD light-rail A line. But no, we need to study the obvious for five more years.

               Building of Affordable housing – although apartments seem to be getting built all around me, this is another permit challenge. An affordable housing projects takes 49 months to permit in California versus 27 months in Texas. If constructed, the California project will be nearly three times as expensive on a square foot basis. I just attended a public meeting about a noise study for a new road extension through my neighborhood that was first discussed in 1998.

China is probably not a direction we want to duplicate where individual and environmental concerns are neglected in the name of progress. In the US and in Europe there are a lot of ways to say no to new projects, but not many ways to say yes. I accept that we need to listen to all relevant communities with their concerns and needs before completing the designs and citing decisions but does it have to talk so long? I have read where the role of an Ombud in Canadian permitting of new mining projects has worked with discussions with First Nation community. Maybe that would help.

For a more detailed discussion of the role of permitting delays check out the following three future of Energy podcasts:

The Mine of the Future S3E9 Dr. Pricilla Nelson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW8SXgnnBuQ

Hug Pylons not Trees S2E4 Colorado Springs Utilities https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl0koLVMMF8

More on Utility Challenges: Storage and Transmission, Stephen Collins SoCalEdison https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWSeyqK_7tg

As well as comments from several of our speakers, I used an editorial article by Eric Sondermann in the Colorado Springs Gazette titled “An abundance of delay and paralysis,” to research this article. There are three new books out on the topic as well. (“Abundance” by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, “Why Nothing Works” by Marc Dunkelman and “Stuck” by Yoni Applebaum.)