Democratic US senators see hope for permitting bill ahead of key Senate vote
XLE•Democratic senators Martin Heinrich and Sheldon Whitehouse said recent changes and assurances from the Trump administration could help win support for a bipartisan energy permitting bill ahead of a preliminary Senate vote. The package would speed approvals for energy and infrastructure projects and require large data centers to pay more for grid upgrades.
1. Senate vote ahead
The Senate was expected to vote on Monday evening to open debate on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act. The measure would speed approvals for power plants, transmission lines, mines and other infrastructure projects, while requiring large data centers to pay more of the costs of grid upgrades needed to serve them.
2. Changes seek support
Changes unveiled on Saturday add tribal consultation requirements, expand states’ roles in transmission planning and utility oversight, modify provisions affecting electric cooperatives and public power utilities, and create a Department of Energy program to help communities address data-center impacts. Heinrich said the changes strengthen tribal protections, but nearly 100 Native American organizations urged Congress to halt consideration, citing concerns about tribal sovereignty, sacred sites and cultural resources.
3. Opposition remains
Environmental group League of Conservation Voters and the Center for American Progress said the changes were improvements but the bill still carries significant risks for public lands and environmental protections. Whitehouse said the Trump administration had assured him that a backlog of hundreds of wind energy permit applications stalled at the Department of Defense would begin moving through the approval process.
