Rep. Peters, Labor, Clean Energy Leaders Urge Action on Permitting Reform
San Diego, CA – Today, Rep. Scott Peters hosted a roundtable with leaders from the renewable energy and labor sectors to discuss local and federal efforts to hold data centers accountable, increase clean energy production, lower costs, and create jobs. After the roundtable, Rep. Peters joined leaders from the renewable energy and labor communities to urge the House and Senate to pass the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA) in this Congress to fix our outdated, broken federal permitting system.
Senators Whitehouse (D-RI), Capito (R-WV), Heinrich (D-NM), and Lee (R-UT) introduced the package on September 30th. The bill has strong reforms that will help us keep data center costs off our electricity bills, meet surging energy demand, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and outcompete countries like China.
Amid recent news of plans to develop Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) into a data center, Rep. Peters also noted his opposition to the project and clarified how BAAJA will prevent ratepayers from paying for the rise in usage and the infrastructure costs of data centers nationwide.
“I've spent years calling for America to get out of our own way and build this critical infrastructure faster so we can lower costs, create jobs, fight climate change, and push back on data centers,” said Rep. Peters. “BAAJA still needs some adjustments and clarifications, but it ought to be voted on this Congress and I’m confident it will have strong bipartisan support. This is our chance for Congress to prove to the American people we can still accomplish big things. We can’t waste it.”
“Cleantech San Diego and our members share a goal of advancing San Diego’s access to reliable, affordable, clean energy, and that depends on getting projects built,” said Jason Anderson, President and CEO, Cleantech San Diego. “The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act and permitting reform championed by Congressman Scott Peters give developers confidence that a permit, once issued, will actually hold. This critical shift means renewable energy projects can get to market sooner to meet growing power demands and clean energy goals.
We greatly appreciate and commend Congressman Peters’ leadership and efforts to advance the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026, said Theresa Carroll, Vice President, Environmental and Land Compliance, GIS and Policy, AES US Renewables and Power. “AES supports a pragmatic, technology-neutral permitting policy that enables the development of the energy solutions needed to meet growing demand. We urge Congress to advance the bill and deliver meaningful permitting and transmission reforms that support reliable, affordable electricity for American families and businesses.”
Since coming to Congress, Rep. Peters has led some of the largest bipartisan efforts in Congress reform our outdated permitting process. Several of his bills are included in BAAJA, including SPEED and Reliability Act, CERTAIN Act, CLEAR Act, BIG WIRES Act, and ePermit Act. American builders, investors, labor groups, climate activists, and taxpayers want Congress to act by fixing our old and slow permitting system.
A livestreamed recording of the press conference can be viewed here. Additional photos from the event, courtesy of the office of Rep. Peters, can be viewed here.
Read Rep. Peters’ full remarks from the press conference below:
The environmental laws from the 1970s weren’t given to us on tablets by Moses. They were written by lawmakers trying to stop bad projects from harming our environment, and they did their job for the challenges we faced at that time. Today, we need to build more, faster to meet our current challenges: high energy bills, increased energy demand, and rapidly expanding data center needs.
That means we need to change how the federal government approves energy and infrastructure projects so we can lower costs and hold data centers accountable.
I've spent years calling for America to get out of our own way. Throughout this Congress, I've been introducing legislation and working with my colleagues to get permitting reform across the finish line.
At last, Congress is on the cusp of a bipartisan, comprehensive permitting reform deal that takes a great step toward fixing our broken permitting system.
Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of Senators compiled dozens of permitting reform proposals and introduced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (BAAJA).
I’m gratified that several of my bills are included in the package and will increase energy supply, build more transmission, and make sure the backlog of clean energy projects get built with no more delays.
These and other reforms are a win for affordability, high-paying jobs, and our environment.
In our roundtable just now, I heard from local attorneys, energy providers, engineers, energy developers, and union leaders who all agree: process delays hurt everyone. We have the opportunity to fix that.
The package still needs some adjustments and clarifications, but it ought to be voted on this Congress and I’m confident it will have strong bipartisan support. American builders, investors, labor groups, climate activists, and taxpayers want Congress to fix our old and slow permitting system.
This would be really good for our country and it’s a chance for Congress to prove to the American people we can still accomplish big things. We can’t waste it.
Thank you to Jason Anderson with Cleantech San Diego and Theresa Carroll with AES US Renewables and Power for being here to talk about how your sectors would utilize the provisions in BAAJA to lower costs, employ skilled workers, and power a cleaner economy.
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