Estimating the Climate Impacts of the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 Transmission Provisions

The briefing analyzes how the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 (EPRA) and FERC Order 1920 could accelerate US transmission expansion to 2–4 TW-miles per year. By enabling the deployment of clean energy to meet growing electricity demand and displace fossil fuel generation, these provisions are estimated to reduce cumulative US grid emissions by 6.5 Gt CO2e through 2050. The analysis focuses on four key EPRA sections addressing interregional planning, FERC permitting, categorical exclusions, and legal decision timelines.

• The combined effect of the EPRA and FERC Order 1920 is estimated to accelerate US transmission expansion to a rate of 2–4 TW-miles per year, compared to the recent historical rate of approximately 1 TW-mile per year.
• The EPRA contains four primary sections impacting transmission: §402 (interregional transmission planning and cost allocation), §401 (FERC permitting and cost allocation), §209 (categorical exclusions under NEPA for upgrading lines in existing rights-of-way), and §101 (shortening the window to legally challenge agency decisions to 150 days).
• In a central scenario, the EPRA is estimated to reduce cumulative US greenhouse gas emissions by 6.5 Gt CO2e through 2050. This figure is derived from a total modeled reduction of 14.3 Gt CO2e, where 3.1 Gt CO2e is attributed entirely to the EPRA's interregional provisions and 3.4 Gt CO2e represents a 30% share of the 11.2 Gt CO2e reduction from regional transmission.
• The analysis assumes that US peak load will grow linearly to double by 2050, driven by data centers, manufacturing, and electrification. This growth provides the economic justification for rapid clean energy deployment and ensures that transmission expansion will not be uneconomic.
• The model assumes that new transmission enables the addition of 32 GWh per year of wind and solar energy per GW-mile, and that this clean energy displaces emissions at a rate of 0.6 tons/MWh, approximating the life-cycle emissions of gas generators.

APA

Teplin, C., Mulvaney, K., & Wang, S. (2024). Estimating the Climate Impacts of the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 Transmission Provisions. RMI. https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2024/08/rmi_estimating_the_climate_impacts_epra.pdf

Chicago

Teplin, Chaz, Katie Mulvaney, and Sarah Wang. Estimating the Climate Impacts of the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 Transmission Provisions. RMI, 2024. https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2024/08/rmi_estimating_the_climate_impacts_epra.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Teplin |first1=Chaz |last2=Mulvaney |first2=Katie |last3=Wang |first3=Sarah |title=Estimating the Climate Impacts of the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 Transmission Provisions |publisher=RMI |date=August 2024 |url=https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2024/08/rmi_estimating_the_climate_impacts_epra.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{teplin2024estimating, author = {Teplin, Chaz and Mulvaney, Katie and Wang, Sarah}, title = {{Estimating the Climate Impacts of the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 Transmission Provisions}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2024}, month = aug, url = {https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2024/08/rmi_estimating_the_climate_impacts_epra.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }