“If the permitting reform doesn’t happen, the IRA may not get its full use and benefit,” Bold Baatar, who runs the copper business at mining giant Rio Tinto Plc, told the Houston conference.
Copper demand is expected to soar on the back of the clean energy transition because it is vital to electrification, but the United States has few existing mines and one of Rio’s proposed copper mines in Arizona faces strong opposition.
Renewable energy companies and utilities have also long complained about the time it takes to secure permits for power generation projects and transmission lines required to move the power to markets.
Sanjiv Lamba, the CEO of industrial gas firm Linde Plc, said he supported the IRA because it provided incentives to find climate change solutions. But “managing the micro-level permitting issues are equally important,” he added.
White House Energy Adviser John Podesta told the conference permitting reform was high on the…
Read More
