A bipartisan permitting reform bill introduced Wednesday in the U.S. Senate would generally bar the cancellation or suspension of federal permits already granted for energy projects and would boost the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's authority to approve transmission lines. The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, sponsored by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Martin Heinrich, Mike Lee, and Shelley Moore Capito, aims to ensure equal treatment across all energy project types and expands federal control over the nation's electric grid. The legislation emerged after permitting reform discussions stalled in December when President Donald Trump issued stop work orders against five offshore wind projects, but talks resumed after Trump indicated wind and solar projects would receive fairer treatment under the measure.
The bill strengthens FERC by removing National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors and broadening the commission's siting power to authorize construction or modification of electric transmission facilities on a case-by-case basis when the proposed work aligns with public interest. It strips incumbent utilities of their federal right of first refusal, ending their automatic authority to construct new regional transmission lines. The legislation also directs FERC to establish a rule mandating that each transmission planning region submit a unified interconnection and regional transmission planning process, mirroring the approach FERC approved for the Southwest Power Pool in March. For computational loads such as data centers, the bill requires transmission costs to be fully assigned to owners and operators of those facilities—specifically for loads at or above 20 megawatts—and prohibits passing incremental costs to other customers through mandatory exit charges.
According to Adam Winer, spokesperson for Advanced Energy United, "Right now we are hearing a lot of enthusiasm about the bill from industry," adding that advocates are optimistic the Senate could pass the measure after November elections. At a Wednesday press conference, Whitehouse said amendments would be considered when the Senate returns in November and noted that negotiations over the administration's obstruction of renewable energy permits would continue alongside amendment work. Rob Gramlich, founder and president of Grid Strategies, wrote in a LinkedIn post that if Congress wants to expand and reduce congestion in the nation's transmission grid, "these permitting bill policies are the changes that can get that done," calling the transmission provisions particularly well-crafted.
The legislation creates a mechanism for applicants to sue the federal government over improper permit denials or unreasonable delays stemming from disparate treatment based on project type, establishing what amounts to a legal right to challenge patterns of unequal federal handling. The bill reduces state authority under the Clean Water Act's section 401 to block natural gas pipeline applications, which Devin Hartman, president of the Lighthouse Energy Institute, noted could affect gas-constrained regions like the Northeast. Hartman told Utility Dive there's "a ton to work with with these bones that would be having major effects on driving speed to power," though he expects the bill will undergo changes during the legislative process. The measure builds on provisions from two earlier bills that failed to advance in Congress: the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 and the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act of 2025, positioning this legislation as the latest attempt to resolve long-standing disputes over how federal agencies approve energy infrastructure.