2026 Market Analysis: The Impact of Federal Permitting on Clean Energy Development

The federal permitting process is delaying, downsizing, and deterring energy projects – at a moment when electricity demand is growing faster than any point in recent memory. 

Crux surveyed 50 renewable energy developers and permitting professionals to quantify what federal permitting is actually costing the market. The findings have direct implications for how projects get financed, sited, and built.

Inside the whitepaper, you'll find:

• Why 80% of developers are intentionally siting projects to avoid triggering federal permitting requirements — and what that means for capital deployment
• How federal permitting contributed to roughly 11 GW of impacted capacity across survey respondents alone in the last year
• The cost burden by the numbers: 100% of developers reported higher project costs, with 58% citing a 6–10% increase in total project costs
• What developers actually want — and why predictability, not weaker environmental protections, is the dominant ask

Download the whitepaper to see what the data reveals about the future of energy project development.