Permitting Reform Is the Legislative Linchpin

The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 included modest permitting reforms — two-year NEPA review caps, a single lead agency model — but stopped well short of what's needed for a continental transmission buildout. The Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, championed by Manchin and Barrasso, proposed stronger reforms but has stalled. Without categorical exclusions for transmission upgrades on existing corridors and eminent domain rationalization, the 100,000-mile transmission expansion that NREL identifies as necessary by 2035 is not achievable. Political risk here is real; investors in long-duration transmission assets should stress-test return profiles under a scenario where federal permitting reform fails and state-by-state routing delays add 3–5 years to in-service dates.