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Aidan Mackenzie

@aidanmackenzie.bsky.social
169 followers 171 following 69 posts

Infrastructure Fellow at @IFP. I post about permitting, geothermal and transit policy

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Aidan Mackenzie @aidanmackenzie.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
This is not correct: Section 1402(d)(1)(B)(ii)(II) literally excludes statements that express a preference for energy but are unrelated to the permitting of those projects. Also 1402 claims require showing all three factors (pattern of disparate treatment, persistence, and intent) not just one.
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Aidan Mackenzie @aidanmackenzie.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Respectfully, this is not accurate. BAAJA establishes timelines, it does not create a default approval if deadlines are missed and it does not make permits immune to legal challenges. BAAJA also does not direct agencies to draft with AI or substitute studies with AI (1/5) bsky.app/profile/kevi...
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 13/10/2026
🧵 I want to make one point about the federal permitting bill. Before I do, I'd just encourage everyone who's interested in the details to listen to this podcast, which covers them ... extensively. There's a lot of complicated stuff in there & the cartoonish portrayals you see online are misleading.
volts.wtf
What’s up with the new federal permitting reform bill?
A conversation with Daniel Palken of Arnold Ventures.
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Aidan Mackenzie @aidanmackenzie.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Do you want to read about every last provision in the permitting deal? Or maybe you just want to dive deep on a single topic Check out my new piece --> it covers every topic in BAAJA with an option for extra detail (for my fellow sickos) ifp.org/how-the-perm...
ifp.org
How the Permitting Deal Works | IFP
The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act is the most comprehensive permitting bill yet
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Aidan Mackenzie @aidanmackenzie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
This is silly. BAAJA (the permitting deal) has robust provisions to make data centers pay their fair share or MORE! Here's how it works 👇: - Data centers (*sometimes) add costs to electricity bills by requiring grid upgrades to service the new demand (1/5) bsky.app/profile/riog...
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Will Poff-Webster @willpoffwebster.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
We wrote the Transit Abundance Playbook because transit costs 3x more to build in the US than in peer countries. We've now added new artwork with beautiful collages by Emma Steinhobel. Check it out at ifp.org/cheaper-transit.
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Dana Nuccitelli @dananuccitelli.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
We @cclusa.org are proud to endorse the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act #BAAJA "For too long, an outdated and inefficient permitting system has slowed the clean energy projects and transmission infrastructure we need to cut emissions and build a cleaner, more reliable energy system."
citizensclimatelobby.org
CCL endorses Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act
Citizens' Climate Lobby is excited to mobilize our grassroots volunteers in full support of this bipartisan permitting reform package.
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Aidan Mackenzie @aidanmackenzie.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I do think permitting harms transit/mega-projects: IMO project dysfunction (cost overruns, delays) is a function of low planning capacity on the one hand AND the enormous volume of barriers (regs, politics, permits, zoning procedures) that we force planners to deal with bsky.app/profile/forr...
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Will Poff-Webster @willpoffwebster.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Ambitious permitting bill out today! @heinrich.senate.gov says: "We need to be able to build big things in this country again... to figure out how to get to yes, or how to get to no, a whole lot faster. If we don't, we will see 20-30% increases in the cost of electricity in the near term."
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Reed Schwartz @reed-schwartz.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
(1/3) Wondering what's actually in the Tim Scott / Elizabeth Warren 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, and what advocates and policymakers can do with it? Check out the implementation guide @willpoffwebster.bsky.social and I wrote with Pew's housing team. Some highlights: ifp.org/the-success-...
ifp.org
The Success of the New Federal Housing Law Now Rests on States and Localities | IFP
Billions of dollars could flow to proactive jurisdictions that build more homes
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Reed Schwartz @reed-schwartz.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
NHPA review areas are ~1/2 mile for gas pipelines, but can be enormous for clean energy. Indirect areas of effect for offshore wind can be so large that they are limited only by the Earth's curvature. Vineyard Wind's review radius was 40 miles - 80x that of a typical gas pipeline.
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Aidan Mackenzie @aidanmackenzie.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Really interesting thread about transit costs expanding due to bad planning decisions. IMO planning is very underrated explanation of transit costs. bsky.app/profile/nick...
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Nick Andert @nickandert.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
I want to talk about Metro’s elephant-in-the-room project, the E Line’s Eastside Extension. I offhandedly opine in videos a lot that I don’t know how they expect this thing to get funded and built, but I want to explain a little bit more about why. The TL;DR is essentially - this is a bad project-
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 08/04/2026
Some 80% of power project developers say that the federal permitting tangle is a serious factor in slowing down or blocking their projects. We badly need permitting reform. Too bad the Trump admin is deliberately derailing it.
utilitydive.com
Federal permitting is ‘outsized’ factor in clean energy delays, cancellations: Crux
“More than 80% of respondents reported intentionally siting projects to avoid triggering federal permitting requirements,” fintech company Crux said about its survey of clean energy developers.
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Aidan Mackenzie @aidanmackenzie.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
The FREEDOM Act limits revocations AND forces agencies to issue permits. If they miss the set deadlines, sponsors can sue, recover daily fees, and/or ask courts to nominate a contractor to complete the remaining review. See subtitles B, C, and D bsky.app/profile/riog...
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Aidan Mackenzie @aidanmackenzie.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
A new permitting bill, the "FREEDOM Act", would stop the ongoing abuse against offshore wind & renewables. FREEDOM creates permitting certainty by setting guardrails on each stage of agency abuse and backs the reform with strong remedies (fines, damages, contractors). bsky.app/profile/heat...
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Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
New exclusive on a major permitting reform advance:
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Heatmap News @heatmap.news · 03/02/2026
SCOOP: @alexckaufman.bsky.social has the exclusive on a new bipartisan permitting reform bill that aims to protect tech neutrality — including offshore wind. Read the full story: heatmap.news/politics/fre...
heatmap.news
Scoop: A New Bipartisan Permitting Bill Aims to Protect Tech Neutrality
The FREEDOM Act would guard previously-permitted projects — like, say, offshore wind developments — against political whiplash.
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Alon (they/them) @alonlevy.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
The report is out, AMA. How to Build High-Speed Rail on the Northeast Corridor transitcosts.com/north-east-c...
transitcosts.com
North East Corridor Report
How to Build High-Speed Rail on the Northeast Corridor We have most recently updated this report on 04/29/2025. Go to the PDF version (coming soon) Overview Our proposal’s goal is to establish a h...
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Aidan Mackenzie @aidanmackenzie.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
DOI would do much better if they took their time to officially update their regs and implement better NEPA procedures. Trying to rush around NEPA using vague authorities is probably just going to result in years of painful court battles bsky.app/profile/aida...
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Aidan Mackenzie @aidanmackenzie.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
I'm extremely skeptical of the Department of Interior's attempt at using emergency authorities to speed NEPA reviews up to 28/14 days. Ironically, DOI is relying on an authority that only ever existed in CEQ regs which are now gone... I expect courts will throw this idea out.
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Aidan Mackenzie @aidanmackenzie.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
The administration's NEPA reform strategy makes increasingly little sense. -Multiple Executive Orders are directed at CEQ but there's STILL no CEQ Chairman so nothing is happening -Repealing agency NEPA regs with no plan to replace them makes no sense.🧵 insideepa.com/daily-news/c...
insideepa.com
CEQ Directs All Agencies To Revoke NEPA Rules, Issue Guidance Instead | InsideEPA.com
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has told federal agencies to rescind their binding rules for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and replace them with nonb...
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Aidan Mackenzie @aidanmackenzie.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
The Council on Environmental Quality claims to show reduced permitting timelines. But the data suggests not much has changed. Here's why NEPA data is tricky: 🧵 (1/9)
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Arnab Datta @arnabdatta.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
Climate advocates might feel hopeless with Pres-elect Trump returning to the WH. They shouldn’t. I wrote about how to make progress for NYT 1. Focus on innovation and industrial strategy 2. Be pragmatic about fossil fuels 3. Expand the interests that gain from decarbonization
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Armand Domalewski @armanddomalewski.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
it really breaks my brain that people will scream that climate change is an existential crisis but also that a system of endless litigation is good and fine
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Greg Nasif @gregnasif.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
We’re builders. By @aidanmackenzie.bsky.social: www.thenewatlantis.com/publications...
thenewatlantis.com
Why it takes a disaster to build fast
If We Can Do It In Baltimore…
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Aidan Mackenzie @aidanmackenzie.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
America can still build fast! …but only after disasters. In my piece for The New Atlantis (now unpaywalled) I look at the Baltimore Bridge rebuild and ask why we can’t build fast all the time. Disaster rebuilds offer some lessons for a better infrastructure process. 🧵 (1/7)
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