The economic impacts of permitting delays on clean energy projects are substantial and multifaceted:
- Lost Investment: Delays in permitting clean energy projects put over 100 gigawatts (GW) of capacity at risk, representing more than $100 billion of lost investment in the U.S. economy.
- Job Losses: These delays threaten approximately 150,000 American jobs connected to the clean energy sector, encompassing manufacturing, construction, and operations.
- Increased Carbon Emissions: Permitting delays cause postponements in project deployment, resulting in approximately 550 million metric tons of additional carbon emissions during this decade—equivalent to the annual emissions of about 120 million cars.
- Extended Timelines: The average time to obtain necessary federal permits under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is about 4.5 years for clean energy projects, and 6.5 years for transmission projects. Some projects take over a decade to receive permits—a period longer than it took to build engineering marvels like the Panama Canal, Hoover Dam, or Golden Gate Bridge.
- Higher Costs and Uncertainty: Delays increase uncertainty and raise costs for developers, who must continue paying loans and storing materials while waiting for permits. These increased costs often pass on to consumers, raising the price of clean energy deployment.
- Ripple Effects in the Economy: Permitting bottlenecks disrupt project timelines, hinder domestic supply chains, and undermine broader economic activity related to clean energy infrastructure buildout.
- Energy Independence: Delays in clean energy infrastructure hinder the U.S. from achieving greater energy independence by slowing the transition away from foreign energy sources.
In summary, permitting delays in clean energy projects create a bottleneck that costs billions in investment, jeopardizes hundreds of thousands of jobs, increases carbon emissions, and slows U.S. economic growth and energy transition. Streamlining permitting processes with timely yet thorough environmental reviews is necessary to unlock the full economic and environmental benefits of clean energy expansion.
Original article by NenPower, If reposted, please credit the source: https://nenpower.com/blog/what-are-the-economic-impacts-of-permitting-delays-on-clean-energy-projects/
