Staying competitive on energy means fixing a broken permitting system

OPINION:

Timing is everything.

Markets move fast. Technology moves faster. Capital flows to where projects can actually get built.

Right now, that’s not always the United States.

We are living through an extraordinary moment of technological advancement. Artificial intelligence is changing industries at a pace few had predicted even a few years ago. New manufacturing capacity is coming online. Energy demand is rising in ways that would have been hard to imagine a decade ago.

But there is a growing disconnect between how quickly America can innovate and how quickly we can execute.

Businesses are ready to invest. We have the technology. The American workforce is more than capable, and the capital is ready.

Yet too often, projects stall out before a shovel hits the ground.

What’s standing in the way is a permitting system that regularly acts as an insurmountable barrier to getting projects off the ground.

Developers face years of review across multiple agencies. Even after approvals are secured, projects can be tied up in litigation with no end in sight. Even if they clear that process, they face the risk of endless litigation with no shot clock for resolution. At some point, the numbers stop making sense. Investors see the uncertainty and walk away.

That is not how a competitive economy functions.

Delayed projects mean higher costs.

Higher costs mean higher prices.

Higher prices mean lost competitiveness.

For our nation’s energy sector, failing to fix this broken system could have drastic consequences.

According to the Department of Energy, U.S. electricity demand is projected to rise dramatically by 2030, driven largely by data centers and advanced manufacturing. Meeting that demand requires building new generation, expanding transmission and revamping infrastructure at a pace we have not seen in decades.

The United States has always been a nation of builders.

When the country needed electricity, we built transmission lines across the country. As interstate commerce boomed, we built highways that connected the country. When cities needed to grow, we built skyscrapers in record time.

The Hoover Dam was authorized in 1928, construction began in 1931 and the project was completed in 1936. The Golden Gate Bridge took five years to build. The Empire State Building was completed in just over a year.

Those projects were possible because the system didn’t stand in their way.

But none of these iconic projects could be completed on timelines resembling those under today’s permitting regime.

If we are going to get back to building, permitting timelines need clear boundaries. Projects should not remain in limbo for years without resolution.

Litigation must be grounded in real harm. Lawsuits should come from those directly affected, not from parties seeking to delay projects solely in the hope that they will fail.

The issues raised in court should mirror those raised during the review process. Businesses should not face new objections, after the fact, that could have been addressed earlier.

Once agencies have consulted in good faith and addressed impacts, there must be a clear endpoint.

Without that certainty, even well-planned projects can be tied up indefinitely.

For the business community, this is about whether the United States remains a place where large-scale investment makes sense.

Companies deciding where to build factories, data centers, and energy infrastructure are comparing timelines across countries and asking a simple question:

Can this project get done?

If the answer is uncertain, capital will go elsewhere.

That outcome is avoidable.

There is a bipartisan recognition that permitting reform is necessary.

But both sides must come together and get this done.

The United States cannot afford a system where delay is the default outcome. Not when global competition is intensifying. Not when energy demand is rising. Not when the next generation of innovation depends on infrastructure that does not yet exist.

The road forward is clear. The question is whether we have the will to act.

The rest of the world is not waiting, and neither should we.

• Sen. Mike Lee has represented Utah in the U.S. Senate since 2011. He is chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.