US Senate advances bill to speed up permitting for energy and infrastructure projects

The US Senate on Monday voted 73-25 to formally take up bipartisan legislation intended to speed up permitting reviews for datacenters and other infrastructure projects. It is the chamber's first major action since last week's election, in which voters soundly repudiated President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.

The bill would shorten the time needed to start large energy projects, both clean energy and fossil fuel, and require datacenters to pay for the energy they use. Such projects currently face years of delay before connecting to the grid, while demand for electricity keeps growing. Anger over artificial intelligence datacenters and rising power prices helped bring in a wave of Democrats pledging to rein in these energy-hungry facilities.

Support and opposition

Trump urged senators to back the bill in a social media post on Sunday, calling it a big win for American energy independence and saying it would let the country build pipelines, mines and power plants faster. Major industry groups representing clean energy developers and the oil and gas sector also support it.

Many environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club and the National Wildlife Federation, strongly oppose it. They argue it would lock in fossil fuel development, weaken environmental safeguards and make it harder for communities to challenge project approvals. Their concerns centre on limits to judicial review and changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires agencies to weigh a project's impacts and lets the public be heard, and to the Endangered Species Act.

Election results could complicate passage

Despite bipartisan backing, the Democrats' midterm win could complicate the bill's path. Some Democrats argue the party should use its stronger position in the next Congress to pass legislation that boosts clean energy while limiting oil, natural gas and mining expansion. Critics say the bill could sharply increase liquefied natural gas exports. House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat expected to become speaker in January, criticised it last week, with his office saying it falls short in several areas.

The bill is led by four senators who head the chamber's energy and environment panels: Republicans Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Mike Lee of Utah, and Democrats Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. They negotiated the deal weeks before the election and released detailed amendments on Saturday to build support. Heinrich said the bill would save households billions on electricity costs, create jobs and cut emissions.