Jun. 5—The federal government isn’t known for a quick permitting process. That’s even what Gov. Michele Lujan Grisham said at recent a business luncheon.

Recent strides could speed a few things up.

Last month, the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council announced a new agreement with the New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority, or RETA, to provide federal permitting support.

It’s a memorandum of understanding between the two entities.

Robert Busch, board chair of RETA, said in a statement his organization has been working for years to expedite and streamline the permitting process.

“This MOU with the permitting council is the next logical step in that effort,” he said. “We look forward to finding ways of efficiently coordinating the federal and state permitting processes.”

The agreement enables a state-federal partnership for infrastructure projects reviewed by federal agencies under FAST-41, which is Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act.

The federal permitting council will help the New Mexico transmission authority determine what projects are eligible for FAST-41, create application processes, provide staff contacts and support timely issue resolution, environmental review and permitting.

Eric Beightel, executive director of the permitting council, in a news release described the agreement as an exciting new chapter.

“By bringing the vast tools of our program to the environmental review and authorization of infrastructure projects in the state of New Mexico, we know that we can realize a marked improvement in getting outstanding projects from the starting line to the finish with efficiency and effectiveness baked into every step of the process,” Beightel said.

The partnership comes as New Mexico, along with the rest of the nation, ramps up its clean energy resources and infrastructure. New Mexico is on a path to be fully powered by zero-carbon resources by 2050.