The National Petroleum Council (NPC) on Dec. 3 released two studies recommending actions to streamline federal permitting, update the nation’s energy infrastructure, and remove regulatory barriers that have stalled the development of critical energy projects.
“With America’s natural gas abundance and infrastructure potential, we can drive down costs, reshore manufacturing, and grow opportunity,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “We want a fully energized country that expands prosperity here at home and supports peace abroad.”
The NPC studies — one on gas-electric coordination and the other on oil and natural gas infrastructure permitting — underscore the urgent need for reforms to strengthen grid reliability and expand domestic energy production.
The NPC — a federal advisory committee to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) composed of more than 200 experts from oil and natural gas industries, academia, and other stakeholders — released these first two reports in its Future Energy Systems series, which was requested by Secretary Wright in June to address energy demand growth.
In the gas-electric coordination study, entitled Reliable Energy: Delivering on the Promise of Gas-Electric Coordination, NPC said it determined that the growing interdependence of natural gas and electric systems has created structural and operational misalignments that, if unaddressed, pose risks to system reliability.
The study calls for improved market incentives, operational practices, and accountability frameworks to prevent disruptions that could cascade across the grid, and outlines solutions to improve coordination between the natural gas and electricity sectors and mitigate reliability risks.
“Natural gas is the fuel of the future, powering our economy with affordable energy,” said Toby Rice, president and CEO of Pittsburgh-based EQT Corp. “This study lays out real, actionable steps to make sure gas and electricity work hand in hand, because reliability depends on both sectors moving in sync.”
NPC recommends prioritizing infrastructure investment via permitting reform and building new, suitable energy infrastructure, while also improving and expanding existing infrastructure, and bettering coordination through a Natural Gas Readiness Forum, thorough long-term planning by FERC Regional Transmission Organizations/Independent System Operators, and new pricing structures to handle changing gas flow patterns, among other suggestions.
Oil & gas study
In the oil and natural gas infrastructure permitting study, entitled Bottleneck to Breakthrough: A Permitting Blueprint to Build, NPC recommends reimagining permitting approvals, improving interagency coordination, and adopting predictable, time-bound permitting processes that protect the environment while supporting economic growth.
Among the NPC recommendations are to streamline permitting processes via legislative actions that clarify the scope of the National Environmental Policy Act, expedite legal reviews for environmental cases, and update general permits to accelerate energy project approvals; and to expand the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) program for faster authorization of natural gas projects and confirming commercial agreements as proof of market need under the Natural Gas Act, among others.
John Dabbar, NPC’s executive director, emphasized the value of collaboration among NGOs, academia, regulator, and industry reflected in the reports.
“The NPC brings together an extraordinary range of experience and expertise,” Dabbar said. “These studies demonstrate what can be achieved when industry, government, and stakeholders work together to solve complex energy challenges with facts and forward-looking solutions.”
U.S. Assistant Energy Secretary for the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office Kyle Haustveit agreed, saying the NPC recommendations “will be instrumental in guiding the department’s strategies for enhancing grid reliability and streamlining the development of essential energy projects.”