Energy, deep tech, and geopolitics at Center on Global Energy Policy @ColumbiaUEnergy | Former Breakthrough Energy policy and strategy leader
New York, NY
Joined December 2012
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Robin Millican retweeted
Comprehensive new analysis out today from my colleagues @ColumbiaUEnergy about the bipartisan permitting reform bill
How the US builds energy infrastructure has major implications for affordability, grid reliability, and the clean energy transition.
In a new CGEP white paper, experts analyze the Senate's proposed Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (BAAJA) and what it could mean for energy infrastructure. 🧵👇
energypolicy.columbia.edu/pu…
Robin Millican retweeted
Do data centers raise your electric bill? New ESIG modeling finds the answer ranges from a 0.88 ¢/kWh cut to a 1.32 ¢/kWh increase for the same load. Differences come from assumptions about headroom, forecast accuracy, and contract terms.
Robin Millican retweeted
After years of trying, the US may be on the cusp of a nuclear renaissance. ⚛️
🎧 On this week's episode of #ColumbiaEnergyExchange, host @JasonBordoff speaks with @juliekozeracki, acting chief investment officer for the US Department of @Energy's Office of Energy Dominance Financing and the office's nuclear sector lead.
Listen now: energypolicy.columbia.edu/do…
New @ColumbiaUEnergy dashboard just out by @AndreasenJack showing how BAAJA's permitting provisions may alter project timelines for onshore/offshore wind, solar, geothermal, pipelines, and transmission.
It estimates, for example, transmission lines could take 8 fewer years. 1/
This shifts NEPA accountability away from an ex ante model, in which a court could suspend an approval until procedural defects were remedied, toward a model in which the review is corrected while construction or operation continues. 9/
Robin Millican retweeted
New from me and @ColumbiaUEnergy on permitting reform timelines
I wanted to understand how BAAJA could affect the time spent on permitting/construction for different energy projects compared to the status quo
Can this bill help with timelines? Potentially a lot!
A Deep dive👇
Impressive names from across the aisle & administrations, arguing that permitting reform is needed for national and economic security.
Included in here: a reminder that NEPA was waived for semiconductor fabs etc getting govt support, because Congress felt speed was important.
NEWS: 19 FORMER ECONOMIC AND NATIONAL SECURITY LEADERS ENDORSE THE BIPARTISAN PERMITTING REFORM BILL
Today, a group of former Cabinet members and White House principals across seven Democratic and Republican administrations sent a letter calling on Congress to pass BAAJA. Here are the signatories:
Janet YELLEN, Michael R. POMPEO, Steven T. MNUCHIN, Leon E. PANETTA, Timothy F. GEITHNER, Henry M. PAULSON, Jr., Robert E. RUBIN, Stephen MIRAN, Jared BERNSTEIN, Tyler GOODSPEED, Jason FURMAN, Glenn HUBBARD, Laura D’Andrea TYSON, Michael J. BOSKIN, Jeffrey ZIENTS, Jake SULLIVAN, Brian DEESE, Larry KUDLOW, Allan B. HUBBARD
Key highlights from the letter:
1. “We are not building infrastructure fast enough to remain globally competitive… The median time for a new power plant to move from an interconnection request to commercial operation has more than doubled, from less than two years for projects built between 2000 and 2007 to more than four years for projects built between 2018 and 2024.
2. China has built more high-voltage transmission in the last fifteen years than the U.S. has built in all of its history... In 2024, China accounted for 31.5% of global knowledge- and technology-intensive manufacturing value added, compared with 20.7% for the United States.
3. Federally funded or permitted projects require NEPA review, but private projects often do not, creating a threat of failure precisely where the government is trying to be proactive, strategic, and engaged.
4. A project that spends years awaiting approval must continue carrying development and financing costs while remaining exposed to rising input costs. The IEA reports that prices for utility-scale transformers increased 26% in 2024, while lead times for some transformers have stretched as long as six years.
5. Mining projects also face tremendous uncertainty: a 2026 study by researchers at the Colorado School of Mines found that permitting for modern mining projects takes an average of 5.5 years, rising to 8.9 years for contested projects. The U.S. currently has the second-longest mine development timeline in the world.
6. The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act is the most significant bipartisan legislative effort that Congress has undertaken in decades to tackle these challenges.
7. BAAJA addresses key constraints stifling American industry by requiring interregional transmission planning, strengthening the federal backstop for nationally significant transmission lines, and creating a faster, more predictable process for connecting new generation to the grid.
8. BAAJA also makes permits more durable by imposing tighter timelines for litigation and limiting frivolous lawsuits that can halt projects indefinitely, while preserving community input and judicial review of substantive agency decisions.”
The letter was organized by @arnabdatta321 on behalf of @IFP and covered exclusively by the WSJ this morning.
Robin Millican retweeted
My take on the new permitting reform bill @ForeignPolicy. It is among the most important policy measures in decades to advance clean energy, meet rising energy needs, and rein in soaring energy prices--and very likely to lead to a net reduction in carbon emissions. When paired with strong climate policy, it is also necessary to allow the rapid buildout of infrastructure needed to drive emissions sharply down. Rejecting it because it may also benefit oil and gas projects would sacrifice a historic opportunity to advance American security, affordability, and clean energy goals simultaneously.
foreignpolicy.com/2026/10/14…
Robin Millican retweeted
The Senate's bipartisan permitting reform deal is under fire from many environmental groups because it could make it easier to build fossil fuel projects.
But in a new @ForeignPolicy column, CGEP Founding Director @JasonBordoff argues that rejecting it on those grounds alone would be an error: America can't meet its energy goals without building more.
foreignpolicy.com/2026/10/14…
Robin Millican retweeted
🎧 On this week's episode of #ColumbiaEnergyExchange, host @JasonBordoff speaks with @DanielPalken, Director of Infrastructure for Energy & Permitting at @Arnold_Ventures, about the core provisions of Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, and the major objections to it.
Listen now: energypolicy.columbia.edu/da…
Robin Millican retweeted
Last week bipartisan Senate negotiators unveiled the most ambitious and serious permitting reform proposal in recent memory.
It was a real pleasure to join @drvolts for a (thorough!) unpacking of what's in bill and why people should care.
open.spotify.com/episode/6t0…
Robin Millican retweeted
Today on Volts: the new federal permitting bill is 417 pages long. Some people love it, some hate it, some are confused. With @DanielPalken, I methodically walk through why it's happening, what exactly is in it, & the political rationale for doing it now.
volts.wtf/p/whats-up-with-th…
