December 22, 2025
Congress is considering a permit reform bill that could create more challenges for developing solar projects. The US House of Representatives has passed the bill Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act. by a vote of 221 to 196 on December 18. The bill now goes to the Senate for approval.
The SPEED Act was originally introduced on July 25 by U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) as a bipartisan effort to help accelerate large-scale infrastructure projects. The permitting reform law proposed significant changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a 1970 federal law that requires assessment of potential environmental impacts before proceeding with certain federal actions, including certain infrastructure project actions.
Solar energy advocates reject the amendments
Some renewable energy advocates supported the bill early on. However, the House amended the proposed law to ban solar and wind energy projects while promoting projects that promote fossil fuels and nuclear energy. The Bipartisan Policy Center offers a summary of the SPEED Act here.
The American Clean Power Association (ACP) released a statement withdrawing support for the SPEED Act, as currently amended, with the association’s CEO Jason Grumet calling the House Rules Committee’s actions “fundamentally changed the legislation that represented true bipartisan progress on authorizing reform.”
“Our support for allowing reforms has always been based on one principle: fixing a broken system for all energy sources,” Grumet said. “The amendment passed last night violates that principle. Technology neutrality was not only good policy, it was the political foundation that made reform feasible.”
Grumet praised the bill’s original form.
“Chairman Westerman’s original legislation showed that Congress could move beyond outdated energy debates,” he said. “It is disappointing that a partisan amendment in the Rules Committee has now jeopardized that progress, turning what should have been a victory for American energy into another missed opportunity.”
Grumet added that real bipartisan reforms are still needed in the United States.
“The underlying problem remains urgent,” he said. “Without reforms, energy prices will rise and the reliability of the electric grid will deteriorate. American families and businesses need Congress to act. We look forward to working with Senate leaders to restore the balanced, technology-neutral approach that can actually become law.”
Association of Solar Energy Industries (SEIA) President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper also criticized the House of Representatives’ passage of the bill.
“The SPEED Act falls short in ensuring a fair and predictable permitting process that allows developers to invest, build and compete,” said Ross Hopper. “For months, SEIA and our member companies have worked relentlessly to advance reforms in Congress to help lower energy costs and build the infrastructure needed to win the AI race and defeat China. But without action to address this unequal treatment of solar energy, energy projects across the country will continue to stagnate.”
Ross Hopper added that the SEIA appreciates bipartisan commitment to permitting reforms and would continue to advocate for a deal in the U.S. Senate that addresses the delay in permitting solar projects. She emphasized allowing reforms that “prioritize certainty and fairness” to deliver affordable energy to U.S. residents.
Original bill protected renewable projects
The version of the SPEED Act included a provision that would make it more difficult for presidents to revoke permits for any energy project. The language was added to address Democrats’ concerns that President Donald Trump would target wind and solar energy projects, but the provision protected all energy projects from arbitrary revocation of permit approvals depending on the party in power.
Keywords: allow
