Environmentalism could stop the clean-energy transition

high-voltage transmission line between Iowa and Wisconsin, expected to connect more than 160 renewable-energy facilities, producing nearly 25 gigawatts of green power, to the Midwestern grid. And yet this crucial project for the climate might not get finished — because of U.S. environmental laws.

At issue is the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, a habitat for bald eagles and other migratory birds, through which the power line would run. On March 21, three environmental groups persuaded a federal judge to The Cardinal-Hickory Creek line episode is just one conflict pitting the environment against, well, the environment. Solar plants and wind farms, transmission lines and carbon-capture projects face opposition from conservationists and other environmental groups asking courts to stop new infrastructure from encroaching on wetlands, forests and other ecosystems.Such trade-offs are not new.

Court challenges often fail. Nikki Chiappa from the Breakthrough Institute noted that by 2020 federal agencies were winning some 80 percent of their cases. Attorneys for the Cardinal-Hickory Creek project seem confident that the injunction against the power line will be lifted. But litigation causes massive delays, raising the costs of multibillion-dollar energy projects. Delays cost big money — money that would be better spent fighting climate change, not court battles.

To be sure, big energy projects require public scrutiny. Sometimes, undisturbed habitats should remain that way. But the permitting process does not weigh reasonably the costs and benefits of building essential infrastructure. It needs streamlining. While lawmakers are at it, Congress should also preempt state and local rules that make it even harder to build projects of high national priority. Green power transmission lines certainly qualify.

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