BY SARAH HAYES
Statewide Media Manager
Citizens’ Climate Lobby New Mexico Chapter
In response to Randall Ryti’s November 5 letter, https://losalamosreporter.com/2026/11/05/lte-in-support-of-bipartisan-american-affordability-and-jobs-act/ “In Support Of Bipartisan American Affordability And Jobs Act”, I would also like to throw my support behind the passage of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA).
Randy’s letter does a great job highlighting some of the positives that passing BAAJA will bring: streamlining approvals for new energy projects; strengthening and modernizing the electrical grid; creating a cleaner, affordable energy future for New Mexico and beyond.
I would add to his points the following: currently, the majority of energy projects awaiting approvals through the permitting process are overwhelmingly renewable energy projects; in fact, about 90 percent of projects needing to go through the permitting project are a clean energy project. As the market continues to make renewable builds more economically viable than oil and gas builds, we should see more renewable options in the pipeline for approval.
Affordability cannot be overstated. According to the group Resources for the Future, which looked at the projected effects of BAAJA on the power sector, the impact of passing BAAJA could mean a 3.5 to 7 percent reduction in annual electricity costs, system savings which could translate to similar savings for consumers’ energy bills. In fact, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions predicts BAAJA could lower residential electrical bills by around $2.5 billion annually by 2035.
There is also the fact that our current way of approving – or not approving – major energy projects is not working. Important renewable projects whose approval could lead to lower carbon emissions, job creation, and an overall healthier climate are facing continuous bureaucratic barriers, leading to many years of delaying a project’s deployment and seeing real world impact. Years spent dragging our feet on clean energy deployment means years spent reliant on fossil fuels, paying higher energy bills, and living in climate change-driven extreme weather conditions that threaten our water, our air, our infrastructure, our homes, and our lives.
The status quo just isn’t working – for the climate, for the planet, for our energy options. I invite folks to look at what BAAJA brings to the table and then ask your members of Congress to support BAAJA as it makes its way through Congress. I’m not asking you to set aside any concerns you have about different aspects of the act – in fact, I encourage you to bring them up when you talk to your congressional offices about this act! But I hope we can all work together to make BAAJA work for all of us, and bring BAAJA across the finish line.
Resources:
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions: “New Nationwide Analysis: Bipartisan Transmission Reforms Would Boost Clean Energy, Cut Power Sector Emissions, Lower Electricity Bills, and Strengthen Grid Reliability”, https://www.c2es.org/press-
Energy Empire: “The Permitting Bill Is Out. Senator Heinrich Walks Us Through It”, https://www.energyempire.fm/
Resources for the Future: “Projected Effects of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act on the Power Sector”, https://www.rff.org/
U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: “Lee, Capito, Heinrich, and Whitehouse Release Substitute Amendment to Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026”, https://www.energy.senate.gov/
Volts: “What’s up with the new federal permitting reform bill?”, https://www.volts.wtf/p/whats-