Lawmakers have spent days lamenting the collapse of a package to improve the electric grid and accelerate the development of all type of energy projects. They’ve been playing a blame game.
But people familiar with the talks say a deal was never even close, despite negotiators insisting they were making progress a week ago.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) has been behind the “permitting reform” push for years, particularly since passage of the Democrats’ climate law in 2022. He had powerful allies on both sides of the aisle, and lobbyists from fossil fuel and renewable energy interests.
In the end, lawmakers got bogged down by the same problems that have plagued the effort for years. And there wasn’t enough time to resolve those issues for a permitting accord to ride on another must-pass vehicle.
