Home Press Releases ACP Statement on Lengthy New Review Procedures from DOI for Energy Projects

ACP Statement on Lengthy New Review Procedures from DOI for Energy Projects

Jul 17 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 17, 2025 – The American Clean Power Association (ACP) issued the following statement from ACP CEO Jason Grumet in response to the announcement of new lengthy review procedures from the Department of the Interior targeting solar and wind development: 

“The recently released memo from the Interior Department is a bewildering departure from the Administration’s promise to bring down energy prices and make America competitive in the race against China for AI and data centers.     

“In stark contradiction to the Administration’s commitment to tackling bureaucracy, this directive adds three new layers of needless process and unprecedented political review to the construction of domestic energy projects. The Secretary of the Interior will apparently now be personally reviewing thousands of documents and permit applications for everything from the location and types of fences to the grading of access roads on construction sites across the country.  

“This intentional effort to slow energy production comes at the worst possible moment. U.S. electricity demand is projected to surge 35-50% by 2040, with data centers alone requiring over 100 GW of new capacity. To meet this demand, America needs a true ‘all of the above’ strategy, which includes additional natural gas and intense efforts to accelerate geothermal and advanced nuclear technologies.   

“Clean energy represented 93% of new capacity added to the grid last year because these sources are the best way to meet demand right now. It’s basic economics that cutting off the fastest and most affordable energy available to the grid just as demand surges will constrain our energy supply and lead to significant cost increases for American businesses and families.   

“This isn’t oversight. It’s obstruction that will needlessly harm the fastest growing sources of electric power. The move is particularly confounding as we look to the Administration to support bipartisan efforts in Congress to streamline permitting for all sources of American energy.”   

The Facts: 

The country needs more electricity to power innovation and economic growth. 

  •  U.S. electricity demand will surge by 35-50% between 2024 and 2040. And the current data center pipeline in the U.S. demands upwards of 100 GW of new power.
  • Data center companies have already started to look at alternative options, that have a surplus of electricity available, for development such as China, Canada, Iceland, and SE Asia.
Clean energy is a significant and growing part of our energy supply.  
  • Utility-scale clean power capacity exceeds 320 GW nationwide — enough to power nearly 80 million American homes.
  • Looking forward, 95% of projects in line to connect to the grid are wind, solar, and storage. With more than 2,000 GW queued up, there is more than enough to meet the country’s needs.
States with higher deployment of clean energy see increases in reliability, as well as lower electricity prices on average.   
  • During the Polar Vortex of 2025, where temperatures plummeted across the country, Texas and California only experienced a 20% increase in prices while states in the Mid-Atlantic experienced an eye-popping 140+% increase in prices (Jan. 19-23, 2025).
  • In 2024, Texas set new records for energy and several major cities set heat records. Nonetheless, Texas avoided blackouts and did not have to issue a single conservation notice to consumers, while producing hundreds of millions in energy cost savings.

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