Washington, DC – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement on proposed legislation in the Senate to reform permitting:
“Transmission is much needed to move renewable energy from solar and wind farms to the places where there is a high demand for electricity.
“Data centers should pay their fair share for the resources they use.
“And having cleaner, cheaper renewable energy is important for reducing energy costs here at home, for our country’s competitive status in the world, and for our ability to tackle climate chaos.
“I strongly support the portions of this bill that seek these outcomes and praise the work of my colleagues – Senators Whitehouse and Heinrich – who have strived to accomplish these objectives.
“But at the demand of the fossil fuel titans, this bill also accelerates the extraction and burning of fossil fuels.
“Very simply: getting more renewable electrons where they are needed doesn’t tackle climate change if you simultaneously promote the burning of more fossil fuels. Unfortunately, this bill does exactly that.
“This bill could make it easier to build more data centers powered by ‘behind the meter’ natural gas plants.
“It makes it much easier to build natural gas pipelines that will transport incredible quantities of natural gas overseas as LNG.
“More pipelines and export terminals equal more American fracked gas burned at home and abroad.
“And while the models exclude American gas burned abroad from the climate impact of this bill, the Earth is affected the same no matter where the gas is burned.
“This bill has a number of other features that merit careful analysis. Yet, the bill has never had a public hearing. Not in the House. Not in the Senate.
“Robust consideration of the bill should be a priority in the new Congress.
“Here are some of the other issues that merit careful examination.
“The bill restricts states’ ability to raise and address clean water concerns on gas pipelines as well as transmission lines.
“It shortens timelines that make it hard-to-impossible for grassroots and community groups to raise concerns about projects.
“It eliminates tools that states and localities use to fight the development of new data centers and detention centers.
“And it impacts the sovereignty and rights of Tribes.
“Permitting reform for electrical transmission lines is essential.
“But the current bill raises too many serious issues that require more deliberation.
“I will vote against the bill before us today, but I look forward to working with my colleagues to get permitting reform right.”
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