Green energy supporters pushed for faster permitting. Trump is doing it, but not for solar or wind
By JENNIFER McDERMOTT Associated Press For years proponents of green strength have argued that a slow inefficient permitting process in the United States hinders a transition to clean sources of electricity Permitting reorganization as it s called is needed to unleash green energies like solar and wind which don t emit greenhouse gases that cause environment change supporters have argued The Trump administration agrees on the need to speed up potential projects but not for wind or for solar which is the fastest-growing source of electricity generation in the U S Related Articles RFK Jr recounts heroin addiction and spiritual awakening urges focus on prevention and public Judge blocks parts of Trump s overhaul of US elections including proof-of-citizenship requirement Judge rules the Trump administration violated a settlement in deporting a man to El Salvador Lawsuits take aim at voter-approved transit projects worth billions Trump science cuts roil university labs targeting bird feeder research AI literacy work and more The Interior Department declared late Wednesday it s adopting an alternative process for vitality projects to comply with the National Environmental Framework Act shortening the reviews to about days and days respectively It typically takes about two years for the federal executive to approve a full environmental impact message or up to one year to complete an environmental assessment The environmental law known as NEPA is designed to ensure locality safeguards during reviews for a wide range of federal proposals including roads bridges and resource projects The procedures apply to potential sources including oil natural gas petroleum uranium coal biofuels and critical minerals They ll also apply to geothermal and hydropower both which generate electricity without emitting planet-warming greenhouse gases President Donald Trump declared a national vigor crisis on his first day in office to speed up fossil fuel growth Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum explained the department is cutting through unnecessary delays to fast-track materials that are essential to the nation s financial sector military readiness and global competitiveness The cumbersome process helped enable China to dominant in processing and refining critical minerals mentioned Rich Nolan president and chief executive officer of the National Mining Association Streamlining it will make the U S more competitive he added Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen revealed the administration is using a fake force urgency to strip away essential legal safeguards It s a blatantly illegal move and we will see them in court she mentioned in a message The Sierra Club stated it s concerned the new approach effectively reduces environmental review and community input to a formality These arbitrary time limits make a complete review of the risks of potentially hazardous projects impossible Athan Manuel director of Sierra Club s Lands Protection Plan explained in a report Thursday A shoddy review means the true hazards of a project may only be known when the air or water thousands of people rely on is dangerously polluted Randi Spivak at the Center for Biological Diversity explained Interior s plan proves that Trump s fabricated strength crisis is a hoax designed to ram through new fracking and coal mining Spivak the center s community lands guidelines director stated it s a lose-lose deal for everyone other than the fossil fuel executives who sponsorship Trump During the Biden administration the Interior Department tried to move fast on potency projects but did so within the fairly reassured confines of existing permitting processes declared Travis Annatoyn who was then the department s deputy solicitor for resource and mineral guidance Burgum on the other hand is attempting to change the entire permitting process at a deep structural level overnight added Annatoyn now counsel at the law firm Arnold Porter By excluding solar and wind the administration risks undercutting the asserted rationale for the vitality emergency In a real urgency you would want to be pouring electrons onto the grid from any source you could find he reported Last week the Interior Department issued an order to stop construction on a major offshore wind project to power more than New York homes Burgum revealed he was doing so because it appeared the Biden administration rushed the approval The Norwegian company Equinor went through a seven-year permitting process before starting to build Empire Wind last year The Associated Press surroundings and environmental coverage receives financial sponsorship from multiple private foundations AP is solely responsible for all content Find AP s standards for working with philanthropies a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP org
