Sponsors (8)
The bill gives existing hydropower license holders more time and regulatory predictability to protect investments and potential renewable capacity, while trading off near-term local economic activity, prolonging environmental uncertainty for affected communities, and risking weaker incentives and greater backlog in federal permitting.
Owners of existing FERC-licensed hydropower projects (utilities and investors) can request up to six additional years (up to three consecutive two-year extensions) to begin construction, reducing the risk of license lapse and sunk-cost losses and improving financing and planning predictability.
Licenses that expired after December 31, 2023 can be reinstated, preserving opportunities to develop future hydropower generation and maintaining potential renewable energy capacity for states and grid planners.
Granting extensions may lower incentives for timely project completion and could increase FERC's regulatory workload, risking longer backlogs and slower permitting for other projects.
Extending or reinstating expired licenses can prolong uncertainty about environmental impacts for local communities and ecosystems, delaying resolution of mitigation and monitoring needs.
Allowing delays may postpone project starts and associated construction activity, which can defer local job creation and near-term economic benefits tied to building projects.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows FERC to grant covered hydropower licenses up to three consecutive 2-year extensions (maximum 6 years) to begin construction and to reinstate certain recently expired licenses.
Allows FERC to grant limited extra time for certain hydropower licenses to begin construction. Specifically, for projects licensed before March 13, 2020, FERC may, at a licensee’s request and for good cause after reasonable notice, extend the statutory 8-year commencement period by up to six additional years delivered as up to three consecutive two-year extensions. For licenses whose commencement period expired after December 31, 2023 and before enactment, FERC may reinstate the license effective as of the expiration date so the authorized extension applies from that date.
Introduced March 13, 2025 by Steve Daines · Last progress April 21, 2026