April 25, 2024

Arlington, Va.— NEMA Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Spencer Pederson today issued the following statement in response to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) new Coordinated Interagency Authorizations and Permits (CITAP) program:

“NEMA and our members are pleased to see the Department of Energy’s (DOE) effort to streamline the federal transmission permitting process through its Coordinated Interagency Authorizations and Permits (CITAP) program. As energy demand skyrockets across the grid and new sources of renewable generation are required to meet that demand, transmission developers are faced with navigating years-long mazes of bureaucratic offices and agencies to obtain permits which resemble the classic board game Chutes and Ladders. CITAP is a sensible step to bring that process under DOE’s charge and leverage the federal government’s partnership in our nation’s energy transition.

“However, the fact remains that permitting still takes too long: at the state and regional levels, large-scale permitting processes average more than 10 years. While FERC will soon have direction to utilize its backstop citing authority when DOE releases its designations of transmission corridors, more work is needed. The Administration should undertake a comprehensive review of the transmission process. NEMA strongly encourages DOE to identify additional procedural steps that currently complicate the permitting process and create a holistic, national policy that anticipates future grid capacity and streamlines transmission policy through FERC’s federal authority.”

Background: NEMA’s graphic illustrates the complexity in navigating the current transmission process.