C2ES is encouraged by the introduction of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026, one of the most significant bipartisan energy proposals in decades. Durable, bipartisan progress on permitting reform is essential to delivering the affordable, reliable, and increasingly clean energy system the country needs. For too long, the status quo has delayed all types of energy projects, leading to inaction and higher costs for consumers. This bill would reform how the country builds energy infrastructure, with provisions addressing transmission planning and siting, permit certainty, federal environmental review, and other critical permitting processes. C2ES will release a section-by-section summary in the coming days detailing the bill’s major provisions and why they matter.
The bill arrives at a critical moment. America is in a period of rising energy demand and extraordinary economic opportunity. Meeting that demand, while keeping energy affordable, reliable, and clean, will require building at a scale the country has not seen in decades. Our permitting system must allow America to turn investment into infrastructure.
Nowhere is that challenge more apparent than on the electric grid. The United States needs stronger transmission connections between regions so electricity can move from where it is abundant to where it is needed most. A more interconnected grid provides consumers greater access to lower-cost power, allow regions to support one another during periods of stress, including severe weather, and connect areas rich in energy resources with growing centers of demand.
Building new transmission lines, however, is only part of the answer. We also need to make better use of the grid we already have. Advanced transmission technologies can increase the amount of electricity existing lines can carry, adding capacity more quickly and efficiently while larger, longer-term greenfield projects move forward.
At the same time, companies investing in America need greater certainty. Energy infrastructure requires substantial capital, often committed years before a project begins operating. Developers and investors need confidence that if they follow the rules and secure the necessary permits, those approvals will endure. A predictable, technology-neutral process can provide that confidence, helping unlock investment in generation, transmission, manufacturing, and other critical infrastructure, including the clean energy projects needed to reduce emissions.
Faster permitting should not come at the expense of meaningful environmental review. It should make that review work better. Federal environmental laws serve important purposes: identifying project impacts, protecting communities and natural resources, and ensuring agencies make informed decisions. A better permitting system should also use accessible and transparent tools for public engagement like those proposed in the bill, making it easier for communities to understand proposed projects and participate in the process. Those goals are entirely compatible with a process that is better coordinated, focused on the impacts that matter most, and governed by transparency and clear, predictable timelines.
America already has the resources, technology, and capital to meet this moment. What it also needs is a permitting system capable of putting them to work. Getting that system right will be critical to keeping energy affordable and reliable, strengthening American competitiveness, reducing emissions, and building the clean energy economy.
