Letter to the editor: Permitting reform required in race against climate change

While Hurricane Ian caused worries and dread for families across the country, scientists at Stony Brook University have demonstrated that Ian was 10% wetter due to climate change. Climate change is happening now, and we are in a race to stop emitting greenhouse gasses so it doesn’t get worse.

We need to cut emissions 50% by 2030 and to stop emitting greenhouse gasses by 2050. While the Inflation Reduction Act is a great step toward these goals, the effectiveness of its policies will be hampered if we do not address how long it takes to build transmission lines and to deploy renewable generation.

A Princeton study shows that we need 400 to 750 gigawatts of new utility scale wind and solar by 2030 — requiring several thousand large projects. In the U.S., renewable energy projects currently take 5-8 years. In 2020, 225 GW of utility-scale solar and wind project proposals were waiting for clearance to connect to the electric grid, but only 25 GW of new capacity were connected. While 2020 was a record-breaking year for renewable projects, canceled projects outnumbered completed projects by 4 to 1.

We need dramatic improvements in both project timelines and completion rates. We want to encourage Congress to continue working toward legislation that will help expedite building the clean energy economy while supporting community engagement. Please ask Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey and Reps. Conor Lamb and Mike Doyle to work on these time-sensitive reforms.

Dana Siler

Squirrel Hill

The writer is co-leader of the Pittsburgh chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby.