Nuclear, geothermal, transmission and every other energy source America needs share the same bottleneck: a permitting process that takes years longer than the projects themselves. Reviews that should take months now stretch past a decade because the process itself has no functioning deadline.
Modernized permitting means clearer timelines, coordinated agency review and judicial review that resolves disputes instead of becoming a default veto, so good projects can get built without lowering environmental standards.
Explore ClearPath's research, testimony, and analysis on permitting reform below.
THE STATE OF PLAY
America's permitting system is slow, costly and unpredictable.
4–5 yrs
Average time for a project to move through federal permitting, across sectors.
$100–140B
Lost every year to permitting delay in jobs, revenue and capital returns.
74%
Of NEPA cases are won by federal agencies — litigation delays more than it changes.
28%
Of projects in an environmental impact statement took over five years to a decision.
Median environmental impact statement
Notice of intent to final statement, in years
2017–2020
3.1
2021–2024
2.4
Statutory deadline
2.0
Reviews got faster, but ten-year averages are unchanged — incremental fixes have not moved the system. Source: Council on Environmental Quality; Breakthrough Institute; McKinsey & Company.
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