Author(s)
This brief is part of “Election 2024: Policy Playbook,” a series by Rice University and the Baker Institute that offers critical context, analysis, and recommendations to inform policymaking in the United States and Texas.
The Big Picture
- The U.S. power supply is shifting to renewable resources, but not fast enough to meet clean electricity and climate goals.
- Thousands of solar, wind, and battery storage projects are being delayed by onerous permitting processes.
- Permitting reforms and a buildout of transmission infrastructure are needed to clear the backlog of renewable electricity projects.
Summarizing the Debate
In an executive order signed on Jan. 27, 2021, President Biden set a target of 100% clean electricity by 2035. Coming close to that target is crucial to putting the United States on track to achieve its Paris Agreement pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Emissions regulations established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in April 2024 will require most coal plants to close by the 2030s and restrict additions of gas plants. Meanwhile, electricity demand is projected to grow to meet the needs of artificial intelligence and increasingly electrified vehicles, buildings, and industry. Although nascent technologies for next-generation nuclear, geothermal, or marine power might become viable in future decades, only solar and wind power infrastructure can be deployed quickly and affordably enough to fill the gap between waning supply and growing demand.
The Inflation Reduction Act enacted in August 2022 expanded incentives for a broad array of clean energy resources including solar, wind, and storage. Since plunging costs had already made solar and wind the least expensive options for new power generation in many regions, the incentives have driven a surge of proposals for solar, wind, and storage projects. However, antiquated permitting processes and stagnant transmission grid infrastructure have been unable to keep pace with that surge. Thus, the queues of solar, wind, and solar projects seeking to connect to U.S. grids have swelled to nearly 2,500 gigawatts — 10 times the amount that have been built to date (Figures 1 and 2). Lengthy queues increase borrowing costs and uncertainties for developers and postpone the benefits of reducing emissions and creating clean energy jobs.
Political debate has centered on whether Congress should pass stand-alone legislation to streamline permitting for clean electricity projects alone or package it with measures to ease the construction of oil and gas pipelines too. However, since wind and solar represent small shares of the energy supply today — but dominate the queues of electricity projects — continued inaction on permitting tends to lock in high-emitting energy sources, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, and slow the transition to cleaner sources. The Biden administration has issued some reforms, but congressional action could promote the buildout of the transmission lines that are needed to integrate more wind and solar projects.
Figure 1 — Existing Capacity and Active Queues of US Electricity Resources in 2010 and 2023
Note: Capacity is noted in gigawatts (GW).
Figure 2 — Interconnection Queues in the US, 2014–23
Note: Interconnection queues refer to proposed projects that must receive approval before they can be connected to the power grid.
Expert Analysis
On decadal time scales, improving electric reliability while integrating very high percentages of solar and wind power will require major investments in transmission infrastructure within and across grid regions, reversing a recent falloff in construction. Transmission interconnections can help blend solar and wind across regions where it is sunny and windy at different times, reducing the need for storage and backup generation sources.
However, in the near term, what matters most for turning project proposals into reality will be streamlining the processes by which grid managers approve new projects. The process for approving projects used by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) — known as “connect and manage,” as it allows projects to connect to the grid without waiting for broader network upgrades and then manages bottlenecks through market dispatch — is less cumbersome than in other regions, enabling Texas to add more solar power than other states in recent years (Figure 3).
Figure 3 — Additions of Utility-Scale Solar Capacity in ERCOT Since 2010
Note: Capacity is in megawatts (MW).
Policy Actions
Congress, the executive branch, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), state legislatures, public utility commissions, and regional grid managers all have a role to play in accelerating the buildout of clean electricity resources by enacting the following:
- Legislation, FERC regulation, or a mix of the two must increase transmission investments.
- Public utility commissions and regional grid managers should work to streamline the process for grid connections.
- In the 24 states that have already established 100% clean electricity goals, with target dates ranging from 2033 to 2050, careful planning by legislators and grid managers will be needed to ensure that the targets are met while also enhancing the reliability and affordability of the power supply.
The Bottom Line
Solar and wind, together with battery storage, provide promising economic options for new power generation in many locations. Streamlined approval processes and investments in transmission infrastructure are needed to unclog the interconnection queues to satisfy growing electricity demand while cutting emissions.
This material may be quoted or reproduced without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given to the author and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The views expressed herein are those of the individual author(s), and do not necessarily represent the views of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
