“Under the program, the DOE will coordinate efforts across eight other agencies to prepare a single environmental review document for transmission developers seeking federal approvals. The program also establishes a two-year timeline for the permitting process.

‘The CITAP program gives transmission developers a new option for a more efficient review process, a major step to provide increased confidence for the sector to invest in new transmission lines,’ the DOE said in a fact sheet.

A second final rule creates a categorical exclusion — the simplest form of review under the National Environmental Policy Act — for transmission projects that use existing rights of way, such as reconductoring projects, as well as solar and energy storage projects on already disturbed lands.”

From S&P Global.