House Passes SPEED Act, Failing to Lower Energy Costs or Speed Clean Energy Deployment - CleanTechnica

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act (SPEED Act), which has drawn criticism from environmental groups for failing to effectively lower energy costs or accelerate clean energy deployment. Instead of addressing the true obstacles hindering renewable energy projects, the SPEED Act weakens the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), potentially enabling polluting fossil fuel projects to proceed with less accountability. Over 150 environmental and community organizations have urged Congress to focus on building clean energy infrastructure at scale through proper planning and public engagement, warning that shortcuts lead to delays, conflicts, and increased costs. The Sierra Club, a leading environmental organization, condemned the SPEED Act for prioritizing fossil fuel infrastructure while neglecting barriers faced by wind, solar, and transmission projects. Mahyar Sorour, Sierra Club Beyond Fossil Fuels Policy Director, emphasized that the legislation would lock in pollution and risk costly delays and lawsuits, rather than speeding up the deployment of clean, affordable energy. He called