Washington, D.C. — Turn Forward Executive Director Hillary Bright issued the following statement after the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act passed the House of Representatives:
“Permitting delays remain one of the greatest obstacles to advancing U.S. energy projects that are essential to meeting the unprecedented demand on our nation’s electrical grid. The Senate now has a critical opportunity to advance permitting reform and deliver the certainty needed to unlock investment and accelerate large-scale energy development.
We thank Chairman Westerman and Representative Golden for their work to advance the permitting discussion in a bipartisan and technology-neutral manner. While it is unfortunate that last minute language was added to the SPEED Act that would harm fully permitted offshore wind projects, we trust those issues will be resolved as the legislation moves forward in the Senate.
America faces skyrocketing energy demand. Offshore wind projects offer a proven way to provide utility-scale power to densely populated areas where a diversity of resources is needed to avoid grid disruptions and rising utility costs. Now is the time to bring more viable, scalable, American sources of energy online.”