NRDC Mixed on BAAJA: Praises Grid Reforms, Warns of Environmental Rollbacks

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has released an assessment of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (BAAJA), a permitting and transmission bill that combines significant grid modernization reforms with substantial changes to federal environmental laws. While the NRDC supports the transmission provisions, it has raised concerns about provisions that could weaken environmental protections and create financial liabilities for taxpayers.

What Happened

The BAAJA aims to address an aging power grid by establishing procedures that could reduce the time to build major new transmission lines from 10 years or more to five or six years. The bill directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to establish timelines for deploying advanced transmission technologies, which NRDC notes could free up more than 100 gigawatts of capacity—enough to power 75 million homes—often at a cost 5 to 10 times cheaper than building new lines. However, the bill also includes 'project certainty' language that largely prevents federal agencies from canceling or changing issued permits. If a project is canceled or amended, companies could sue for reinstatement and require the government to pay litigation expenses, project delay costs, and potentially 25–50 percent of total project costs. Additionally, the bill weakens key elements of the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), narrowing environmental reviews and limiting the ability of courts to stop projects proceeding under unlawful permits.

Why It Matters

For the EV and clean energy sectors, the transmission reforms are critical because they address a major bottleneck: approximately 2,000 gigawatts of proposed generation and storage, 85 percent of which is solar, wind, or storage, are currently waiting to connect to the grid. Faster interconnection and expanded capacity are essential for supporting the electrification of transportation and meeting rising demand from data centers. However, the environmental rollbacks could have long-term consequences. NRDC’s analysis suggests that in the aggregate, the Trump administration’s actions and the bill’s constraints on environmental review could double carbon emissions from the power sector over the next decade while raising consumers’ electric utility bills by $30 billion per year by 2035. The 'project certainty' provisions also risk locking in preferential treatment for fossil fuel and industrial projects, potentially limiting future pollution regulations and exposing taxpayers to significant financial risks if projects are challenged or canceled.

The Bottom Line

NRDC views the BAAJA’s transmission reforms as a necessary and overdue update to the grid that will facilitate clean energy deployment. However, the organization warns that the bill’s environmental and judicial constraints are deeply flawed, potentially undermining community protections and creating costly liabilities. NRDC intends to seek improvements to the legislation before taking a final position ahead of a floor vote.