A Day 1 Agenda for Faster Permitting

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Written By Nikki Chiappa

Co-Written By Nikki Chiappa and Brent Efron

The answer to rising housing costs, infrastructure backlogs, and clean energy delays is increasingly the same across the political spectrum: permitting reform. But "permitting reform" is not a single policy.

Over the last few years, we've worked with decision makers and permit writers across states to unearth what actually moves the needle at these agencies. Here are 7 executive actions Governors can take in their first 100 days to address affordability by cutting permitting timelines for housing, infrastructure, and energy projects.

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Nikki Chiappa

Nikki is an expert in decarbonization and permitting policy with a strong track record of advancing pragmatic, market-driven solutions to clean energy infrastructure challenges. As the Permitting Innovation Lead at EPIC, she works with decision makers to better understand permitting bottlenecks and harness innovative solutions to break through them.

Her past work contributed to national conversations on the role of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in decarbonization, with her research and analysis featured in The Washington Post, Politico, S&P Global and Michael Cembalest’s Eye on the Market Report (2025).

Nikki has also worked in state-level clean energy advocacy at Clean Tomorrow, Advanced Energy United and the Chesapeake Solar and Storage Association, a regional affiliate of the Solar Energy Industries Association. In these roles, she helped build strong bipartisan coalitions to support offshore wind energy transmission expansion, streamlined rooftop solar permitting and improved stormwater management practices for utility scale solar projects.

She holds a B.A. in Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government and an M.P.A. in Environmental Policy, both from American University, and helped reestablish the D.C. chapter of Young Professionals in Energy in 2024.

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