Reading and Podcast Picks is a collection of what we’ve been reading and listening to over the last week or so about energy topics.
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The biggest energy news this week is the Senate’s release of a long awaited permitting reform bill, the BAAJA. BPC walks through the 417-page bill section by section compared with current law. It covers
National Environmental Policy Act scope.
Deadlines and judicial review.
Historic preservation reviews.
Transmission siting, planning, cost allocation and data center ratepayer protections.
Clean Water Act changes.
Permit certainty and disparate treatment.
Endangered Species Act timelines
Geothermal, hydropower, offshore and mining titles.
A cloture vote is expected November 9.
Data centers face a sweeping new power regime | Axios
Axios explains the purpose and scope of the legislation in its get-this-information-into-my-brain-immediately style.
The big picture: Congress has been talking about overhauling permitting for years. The AI boom has given lawmakers an urgent reason to finally act: America suddenly needs enormous amounts of new power infrastructure, fast.
Faster approvals for power plants and transmission lines could directly benefit data centers struggling to secure enough electricity for their expansion.
How it works: The bill reaches into virtually every part of the relationship between large data centers and the electric grid.
What’s up with the new federal permitting reform bill? | Volts Podcast
For more on the bill, David Roberts talks with Daniel Palkin of Arnold Ventures about BAAJA’s provisions and the odds of a lame-duck vote. Palkin, a former Senate staffer on earlier permitting efforts, puts the bill’s chances of passage at 50-50.
“Both sides have faith in their preferred technologies. And I’ve actually heard some of the negotiators of this bill describe it plainly in those terms… our policymakers on both sides of the aisle believe that their resources are genuinely better… and will succeed in a level playing field.”
