Stalled energy projects hurting job growth
The business lobby said the report analyzed proposed gas, nuclear, transmission, coal and renewable energy projects that were delayed or canceled due to drawn-out permitting processes, lawsuits, or threats of legal action.
According to the powerful Chamber, the study underscores the "corrosive economic and employment impacts" of what it called "inefficient" regulatory hurdles and related legal disputes.
The study excluded on- and offshore oil projects, which the Chamber said resulted in a conservative analysis.
In total, the projects would generate $577 billion in investment dollars, the study said, acknowledging that not all of the projects would or should be approved.
"Not all of these projects should be approved," Peter Morici, a former chief economist with the U.S. International Trade Commission who reviewed the study, said at a press briefing. "But the current process as I understand it is broken. That's why this country isn't growing at 5 or 6 percent a year. It's only growing at 3."
The report was commissioned in an attempt to inventory delayed projects and quantify their economic impact, the Chamber said.
The study analyzed 22 nuclear projects, one nuclear disposal project, 21 transmission projects, 38 gas and platform projects, 111 coal projects and 140 renewable projects. The renewable projects include 89 wind, 10 solar, seven hydropower, four wave, 29 ethanol or biomass and one geothermal.
The report noted that clean energy projects "are hitting the same roadblocks as gas, oil, nuclear and coal projects."
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A new nuclear reactor in the U.S. starts up. It's the first in nearly seven years
ATLANTA - For the first time in almost seven years, a new nuclear reactor has started up in the United States.
On Monday, Georgia Power announced that the Vogtle nuclear reactor Unit 3 has started a nuclear reaction inside the reactor.
Technically, this is called “initial criticality.” It’s when the nuclear fission process starts splitting atoms and generating heat, Georgia Power said in a written announcement.
The heat generated in the nuclear reactor causes water to boil. The resulting steam spins a turbine that’s connected to a generator that creates electricity.
Vogtle’s Unit 3 reactor will be fully in service in May or June,…
