The Senate Chamber in the Pennsylvania State Capitol.
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It’s been an eventful November for the 2028 Democratic presidential candidates. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), who poured more than $25 million of his own fortune into his campaign coffers this month, traveled to the Lone Star State on Nov. 10 to confirm an annual dinner for the Dallas County Democratic Party, where Pritzker was warmly greeted by leading Texas Democrats. The next day, on November 11, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) spoke at the global climate conference in Brazil, with his remarks garnering national and international media coverage. Meanwhile, on Nov. 12, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.) reached a delayed budget deal with legislative leaders in Harrisburg, making him the first Democratic governor to withdraw from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cap-and-trade program made up of nearly a dozen northeastern and mideastern states.
While the end of Governor Shapiro’s attempt to impose RGGI in Pennsylvania gets the attention it deserves, the permissive reforms Shapiro agreed to are also noteworthy. Specifically, Pennsylvania’s new budget expands the number of permits covered by the state’s new streamlining permits for economic expansion and development (SPEED) program.
Pennsylvania’s SPEED program, which was authorized by the 2024 legislation and began in late June 2025, speeds up the review process for certain permits by allowing businesses to pay for private, third-party inspectors to conduct technical inspections. The Commonwealth Foundation, a Pennsylvania-based think tank, notes that the permitting reforms included in the new budget will allow more businesses to “track permits through an online system” and permits that are not processed by the state in a timely manner “will be automatically approved, allowing businesses to begin those projects.”
“With the threat of RGGI off the table, a more prosperous future for Pennsylvania’s energy sector can move forward.” he said Nathan Benefield, head of policy at the Commonwealth Foundation. “This, combined with the reform that has been approved, will improve Pennsylvania’s economic outlook.”
As Congress considers whether to authorize reform like the federal SPEED Act, state legislative leaders, governors and 2026 candidates are advocating for complementary actions at the state level. Take Congressman Tom Tiffany (R-Wisc.), the front-runner to be the GOP gubernatorial candidate in Wisconsin next year, who is now campaigning on the need to allow reform at both the federal and state levels.
“With increasing demand for electricity and the need for a more reliable domestic source of energy and vital minerals, the US must approve and build more power plants, pipelines, mines and export terminals in a timely manner,” Tiffany wrote in a recent op-ed at Capitol Timeswhich she co-authored with Gabriella Hoffman, director of the Independent Women’s Center for Energy and Conservation. “The US can continue to meet its strict environmental and labor standards while expediting the long and contentious permitting process.”
“While permitting reform is considered the sole responsibility of the federal government, states like Wisconsin have a responsibility to participate in the process,” Tiffany and Hoffman added, noting that three-quarters of permits approved under federal law are issued by state governments. “Furthermore, the Foundation for American Innovation’s State Permitting Playbook notes that places like Wisconsin have ‘considerable autonomy and flexibility in implementing and enforcing environmental laws,’ such as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.”
“Unfortunately, Governor Tony Evers’ Climate Change Task Force — born out of an October 2019 executive order — could prevent Wisconsin from maximizing its potential by prioritizing climate change over enabling reform,” Tiffany and Hoffman warn. “The governor’s over-reliance on renewables like solar and wind, not reliable energy, will not be satisfied right now.”
Back in Washington, days after Governor Shapiro signed legislation enabling the reform as part of a new state budget, the US House Natural Resources Committee held a full committee on three reform bills, including the aforementioned federal SPEED Act. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), the committee’s chairman, supported the labeling as “an important bipartisan step toward lowering energy prices for hardworking Americans and building critical projects.”
“Growing demand for electricity and critical minerals is fueling new investment, and federal permitting laws must keep pace,” President Westerman added in a statement issued after last week’s note. “The SPEED Act eliminates bureaucratic delays that hold up projects and restores NEPA to its original purpose. The Commission’s bipartisan support for NEPA reform is a win for government efficiency, economic growth, national security, transportation infrastructure, and lower energy bills for Americans. I thank my colleagues for their hard work on the bills we advanced.
The continued creation of AI-dedicated data centers, which are more energy-intensive than traditional data centers, translates into increased demand for electricity that, unless accompanied by a corresponding expansion of power generation capacity, will increase consumers’ energy costs. Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs Research is appreciated that energy use for the global data center market will increase by 165% by 2030 compared to 2023. While data centers currently consume 55 gigawatts (GW) of energy, Goldman Sachs Research predicts that 122 GW of data center capacity will be online by the end of this decade.
“As data centers contribute to the growing need for energy, the power grid will require significant investment,” Goldman Sachs Research noted in February, estimating that such a rise in demand would require $720 billion in new spending to expand electricity generation and transmission infrastructure. “These transmission projects can take several years to permit and then many more to be built, creating another potential barrier to data center growth if regions are not proactive about it given the lead time,” noted James Snyder, senior analyst at Goldman Sachs who focuses on U.S. telecoms, digital infrastructure and IT services.
As federal licensing reform awaits further consideration in Congress and an eventual floor vote, recent changes included in Pennsylvania’s new budget, along with comments from Congressman Tiffany to the Wisconsin gubernatorial campaign, indicate there are actions state officials can take in the near future to advance reform that will help achieve the needed expansion. Additionally, the Keystone State’s new budget, like the recent congressional addition, also underscores the fact that reform authorization can garner bipartisan support and move forward even where there is divided government.
