Reducing litigation backlogs, expediting critical project timelines, and standardizing processes are critical steps to overhauling America’s broken permitting system, says a new report from the National Petroleum Council (NPC), issued at the request of Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The report comes amid rising energy costs as AI data centers and increased U.S. energy exports have skyrocketed demand. The NPC’s findings serve as a collaborative roadmap for government and industry to work together on streamlining permits.

NPC’s analysis points out that current permitting pitfalls don’t merely cause logistical issues, they also cause a structural vulnerability to the nation’s energy system, causing regional price volatility, supply insecurity, increased prices, and job loss. America is at a tipping point: we either overhaul the permitting process to build the infrastructure needed to keep up with energy demand, or face serious economic consequences.

Energy Secretary Wright, who ordered the NPC report in June, welcomed its findings as an important step toward reform:

“The National Petroleum Council’s findings confirm what President Trump has said from day one: America needs more energy infrastructure, less red tape, and serious permitting reform. These recommendations will help make energy more affordable for every American household.”

As Energy in Depth has examined in previous analysis, outdated permitting rules have slowed the development of projects critical for energy security and reliability. But momentum is building for change. In September, a diverse coalition of America’s energy and business leaders sent letters to congress, urging them to act quickly to modernize the permitting system: streamlining the system so that projects can better develop and everyday people can reap the benefit quickly of new infrastructure construction.

Getting It Done

The NPC report illustrates how demand is outpacing the capacity of our energy infrastructure, particularly for natural gas. Between 2013 and 2024, U.S. natural gas demand increased by 49 percent, while pipeline capacity grew only 26 percent and storage capacity rose an incremental two percent from 2013 to 2023.

Natural gas will continue to play a vital role in powering business and homes for the foreseeable future, thanks to its abundance and affordability. It is also the perfect partner for renewables, ready to fill in when wind and solar output dips. But to fully leverage natural gas, we need a permitting system that lets pipelines and storage facilities come online faster. Permitting reform is key to optimizing natural gas delivery and ensuring reliable, affordable energy when and where it’s needed.

The NPC report outlined several major pitfalls in the current permitting process that must be addressed:

• Litigation Risk: Lengthy environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) leave projects incredibly vulnerable to lawsuits. On average, nearly one-third of projects which are mandated to perform an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) face a court challenge, with 90 percent of cases alleging a NEPA violation. Lawsuits delay projects by one to two years and can even take four years if appealed to circuit courts.
• Convoluted Review: The current permitting framework is overly complex and project-specific, lacking standardization and the ability to expedite proposals. Developers must navigate a maze of agencies and reviews, often duplicating efforts. This process-heavy approach makes it difficult to advance even the most critical projects.
• Slow (and Reversable) Approvals: The vast majority of EIS reviews take more than two years to complete, and that’s before accounting for multiagency permit sign-offs. This process can take four to five years not including litigation delays. Furthermore, even if a project is approved, its permit can be revoked on the basis of policy, meaning political changes can undo years of planning and investment.

Permitting review should focus on supporting businesses looking to build critical energy infrastructure in the United States, rather than hindering them with petty litigation, lengthy review processes, and convoluted standards.

To do this, the NPC recommends a massive permitting system overhaul, focused on standardizing and expediting the review process. In the near term, some pitfalls can be remedied by amending NEPA to focus on environmental impacts within its purview and reducing backlog in the judicial review process. In the long term, federal and state governments should shift from case-specific to standardized reviews that allow for expedited approval based on clearly articulated standards. Predictable permitting for routine oil and gas activities and expedited approval of electric power infrastructure development will be crucial to match increased energy demand.

As it stands, permitting review is needlessly convoluted and bogged down by political agenda. A standardized system would reorient development to focus on transparency and efficiency: giving America the tools it needs to maintain energy dominance and technological innovation.

The Way Forward

Fortunately, permitting reform has attracted many allies pushing hard for action in recent months. On top of the calls from business and industry groups this fall, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are actively pushing for permitting reform legislation— such as the SPEED Act— and Secretary Wrigth have welcomed the NPC’s recommendations, viewing them as a blueprint for constructive action. NPC Executive Director John Dabbar emphasized the collaborative nature of the report’s findings:

 “These studies show what’s possible when industry, government and stakeholders work together to address complex energy challenges with facts and forward-looking solutions.”

The NPC report is an important step forward, shining a light on concrete actions that the federal government, lawmakers and individual agencies must take steps to address permitting inefficiencies.

Data proves that a strong majority of voters support updating the permitting process to speed up energy development. Not only does overhauling permitting have public support, but it is also the key to enhancing domestic infrastructure that can keep up with technological innovation and booming energy demand. A modernized permitting framework would enable critical projects such as pipelines, power plants, refineries, and LNG export terminals to be built in pace with demand, ensuring energy supply and maintaining U.S. global competitiveness.

Bottom Line: The National Petroleum Council’s report makes clear that modernizing how we permit energy infrastructure is critical to keeping power affordable, reliable and secure. By acting on these recommendations in a collaborative way, industry and government can fast-track the energy projects our country needs, protect consumers from energy price spikes, and ensure the United States continue to lead the world in energy innovation and economic strength.

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