Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act speeds energy permits

The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act arrives as power demand rises at a nearly unprecedented scale, largely driven by data center construction, and electricity prices spike due to rising demand and antiquated infrastructure. The bill bundles streamlining proposals into a single package, an approach Ben Norris of the Solar Energy Industries Association called balanced and unprecedented.

A key beneficiary would be electric transmission lines, which are hard to build across private land. Such projects help renewables, as seen in Texas, where transmission expansion helped the state lead the country in utility-scale wind and solar power. Toby Rice, CEO of EQT, said the legislation would bring utility and inflationary prices down while creating more certainty for infrastructure builders, citing EQT's 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline taking a decade and an act of Congress.