Infrastructure
Congress is running short on time to pass a comprehensive permitting reform package before the lame duck this fall. On the table awaiting votes are bills reforming the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and Clean Air Act. The National Historic Preservation Act, which has recently gained traction as a permitting barrier to projects, has received comparatively little attention in Congress.
By C3 Solutions5 min readAugust 4, 2026
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Energy
Building more is no substitute for building smarter. At times, this has been a challenge for America's energy infrastructure, particularly transmission. It is evident that the U.S. needs more transmission, but which transmission lines it builds matters for protecting ratepayers and keeping costs in check. An overwhelming number of House Members just reaffirmed this guiding principle for how America should approach the development of electric transmission.
By Dylan Maxik4 min readJuly 30, 2026
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Conservation
The 50-year era of “don’t-touch” conservation may have ended three weeks ago, after the Trump administration narrowed the definition of harm under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Harming an endangered species used to encompass damage to the land the species lives on. Landowners with endangered species were limited in how they could steward their plots of land. After all, endangered species’ recoveries relied on proactive efforts by landowners, which will remain intact regardless of the changing incentive structure of the ESA. The unnecessary penalties landowners had to incur were lifted, and conservation efforts will be able to fit the needs of the land and life rather than keeping the overburdening punishments of the ESA.
By Sydney Rodman4 min readJuly 27, 2026
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Energy
Electricity rates are rising faster than inflation and are felt by households across America. After decades of flat electricity demand, the country is experiencing significant load growth, driven by hyperscale AI data centers, resurgent domestic manufacturing, and the steady electrification of buildings and vehicles.
By Nick Loris5 min readJuly 20, 2026
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Conservation
“The endangered species list is not a dean’s list,” Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon said this week, standing near Big Sky, MT, with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the governors of Montana and Idaho. “It's time this bear graduates.” After decades of federal control and an amazing tale of conservation success in America, the Interior Department has announced it will shift the daily management of the grizzly bear back to the states. Grizzly bears would, however, remain listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
By Cecilia Fassett3 min readJuly 16, 2026
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Energy
America is betting on a nuclear comeback, driven by a new generation of advanced reactors with lower capital costs and significant potential for economies of scale. Many of these reactors, however, require specialized fuel that has led the government to pour billions into a domestic supply chain. To ensure these investments pay off, federal officials should proactively eliminate artificial procurement barriers and permitting hurdles which threaten to stall nuclear fuel independence.
By Dylan Maxik4 min readJuly 15, 2026
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Infrastructure
Heading into the August recess, policymakers continue to hash out the details of a comprehensive permitting bill in hopes of sending it to President Trump’s desk this Congress. There is bipartisan recognition that permitting reform is essential to improving energy affordability and reliability, and to meeting our environmental ambitions. As the discussions on Capitol Hill evolve, one law starting to receive more attention for reform is the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
By Cecilia Fassett and Nick Loris10 min readJuly 13, 2026
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Energy
Across state capitals and in Washington, policymakers are scrambling to address voters’ alarm over electricity bills. The Trump administration is unwinding major climate regulations, Democrats are focusing more on affordability concerns than climate change, and governors are quietly paring back clean energy subsidies and emissions mandates they championed only a few years ago. Climate policies are starting to bite, and the political strategy that helped enact them, downplaying costs and obscuring tradeoffs, is becoming harder to sustain as ratepayers see the impact on their bills.
By David Kemp4 min readJuly 8, 2026
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Infrastructure
Americans are exhausted by the cost of living—and energy sits at the heart of it. Recently published research by Kevin Dayaratna and Kat Miller at Advancing American Freedom (AAF) analyzing worldwide data finds that robust energy production is directly tied to higher incomes, greater productivity, longer life expectancy, and lower child mortality. The reality is stark: no country has ever achieved high living standards without substantial energy use.
By Kevin Dayaratna and Paul Teller4 min readJuly 2, 2026
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Energy
The surge in data centers with energy needs equivalent to small cities has put a spotlight on the new transmission infrastructure required to serve these customers. But recent action from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), America’s top energy market regulator, takes aim at a more basic question in this rapid buildout: who pays for that new steel in the ground, and when? Right now, the rules that determine cost allocation are opaque enough that customers who never asked for those upgrades can end up footing the bill. That is the cost-shifting problem the Commission just put a target on for transmission utilities across the country.
By Dylan Maxik4 min readJune 30, 2026
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