At a glance
- The bill would also let FERC cut returns when upgrades slip, as Private Infrastructure Daily previously reported.
- Jefferies analysts, in a research note sent Monday after the vote, said the manager's amendment "largely preserves" the bill's original framework while shifting the balance among project types.
- None of that changes project economics unless the bill becomes law.
The Senate voted 73-25, with two abstentions, to advance a permitting bill that would end incumbents' federal right of first refusal on regional transmission lines. The bill would also let FERC cut returns when upgrades slip, as Private Infrastructure Daily previously reported.
Jefferies analysts, in a research note sent Monday after the vote, said the manager's amendment "largely preserves" the bill's original framework while shifting the balance among project types. They ranked it incrementally better for transmission, offshore wind, nuclear and non-RTO utilities, and worse for large behind-the-meter gas projects, incumbent RTO utilities and projects that rely on strong permit certainty. The note added: "Senate passage is possible, but enactment remains unlikely without a clear House strategy."
For allocators, the amendment reorders the project types Jefferies favors: transmission, offshore wind and nuclear improve, while large behind-the-meter gas and projects that rely on strong permit certainty worsen. None of that changes project economics unless the bill becomes law.
The 25 no votes included Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. Schiff told Politico he voted no after President Donald Trump said Monday he supports the bill but "will not approve wind turbines." Schiff also said the bill "hasn't been fully negotiated" and that Trump would make full use of any wiggle room left in it to prioritize oil and gas over renewables.
Merkley said in a Monday release that he "strongly supports" the provisions expanding transmission and clean energy and allocating data center costs fairly, but said the bill accelerates fossil fuel extraction and burning, could make it easier to build data centers powered by behind-the-meter natural gas, and affects Tribal sovereignty and rights. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., voted to advance the bill but said she will not vote for final passage unless changes to the National Historic Preservation Act that Nevada tribes object to are struck. A coalition of tribal organizations said in a Sunday release that the manager's amendment "does not adequately address the serious concerns raised by Tribal Nations across the country."
Reported by the Energy Transition desk from Utility Dive and Politico, via Utility Dive. Published . Corrections