Electric Power Supply Association President and CEO Todd Snitchler on NEPA Phase 2 Federal Permitting Process Reforms
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | April 30, 2024
CONTACT: Christina Nyquist | 603.930.8818 | cnyquist@epsa.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The federal permitting process for energy infrastructure should be streamlined and made more efficient for all types of power generation and storage assets, said the head of the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA) following the Biden Administration’s release of Phase 2 reforms to the federal permitting process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). EPSA President and CEO Todd Snitchler said the revised rule fails to encourage the investment needed to reliably meet soaring electric demand and reach aggressive emissions targets. EPSA’s position on permitting reform details the need to bring increased certainty and predictability to the permitting process for all energy infrastructure.
In response to the rule’s release, Snitchler said, “We are at a moment in time when our nation needs significant investment in all types of energy infrastructure to avoid supply shortfalls while reducing emissions, but this rulemaking takes reliability efforts backwards.”
He continued, “Integrating more clean energy into the system will require the support of dispatchable generation. If we are serious about meeting our energy reliability and policy needs during a time of rapid growth in electricity demand, we need critical investment in both dispatchable and renewable generation, fuel supply infrastructure, and transmission and distribution assets. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, and grid operators are all flashing warning signs that dispatchable resources are being retired too quickly and aren’t being replaced with sufficient capacity with similar reliability attributes.
In short, the clock is ticking. We need more infrastructure, not less, and it is disappointing that this rulemaking puts politics and aspiration ahead of the operational realities of the electric grid.”
Snitchler further said, “Both reliability and environmental policy goals are harmed when regulators silo themselves into advocating for one type of energy resource at the expense of dispatchable, firm generation. Renewable energy will continue to comprise a larger share of our nation’s annual electricity production, and many EPSA members are investing in those renewable and other clean energy investments. However, responsible system planning demands that we prepare for times when the weather isn’t conducive to electricity production, demand spikes, or conditions require rapid response to produce additional supply, and that requires dispatchable resources.
Policymakers must embrace the reality that massive investments in all types of infrastructure will be needed to meet our nation’s reliability and policy goals in a time of dramatic increases in electricity demand. Permitting policy should recognize that new investment in energy assets – including dispatchable, firm generation – will play a critical role in our energy future,” he concluded.
###
The Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA) is the national trade association representing America’s competitive power suppliers. EPSA members provide about 150,000 MW of reliable and competitively priced electricity from environmentally responsible facilities using a diverse mix of fuels and technologies including natural gas, wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, storage, biomass, and coal. EPSA seeks to bring the benefits of competition to all power customers. Learn more at www.epsa.org and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter @EPSAnews.
