The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee advanced the Manchin-Barrasso permitting overhaul today, breathing new life into a possible lame duck push, Nick writes.

Why it matters: The 15–4 vote showed bipartisan support for the deal to speed permitting for fossil fuel, transmission and renewable energy projects.

Driving the news: The committee slogged through amendment proposals this morning, but most were either rejected or withdrawn.

• Chair Joe Manchin largely fended off any changes out of concern they'd throw off the bipartisan balance he and Ranking Member John Barrasso were able to strike behind closed doors.
• Sen. Josh Hawley joined progressive Sens. Ron Wyden, Bernie Sanders and Mazie Hirono in voting "no" on the final bill.

What we're watching: A possible Senate floor vote is TBD.

What they're saying: Manchin and Barrasso told reporters after the markup that the committee vote enables them to get into more serious discussions with leadership and the House lawmakers working on permitting bills.

• "I think everyone was waiting to see how we came out of today," Manchin said. "Coming out with a 15–4 vote is tremendously supportive and encouraging, I would think."
• This bill deals exclusively with issues in ENR's jurisdiction. The limits on lawsuits, for instance, apply mostly to energy projects.
• Reps. Bruce Westerman and Scott Peters, among others, are working on legislation to broaden the scope of those NEPA revisions, and it remains to be seen how they'll fit with Manchin-Barrasso.

Friction point: Progressives are already mobilizing against this bill.

• The most controversial provision for Democrats is the language that would essentially end the Biden administration's LNG export permits pause.
• The committee rejected an amendment from Sen. Bernie Sanders to nix the pause language 6–13.
• Sen. Ron Wyden listed two other provisions as reasons for his vote against the bill: oil and gas leasing and lawsuit limitations.

Yes, but: At one point, Barrasso was asked by Sen. Angus King whether the bill has any chances of moving without the LNG provision.

• "Absolutely zero," Barrasso replied.
• And despite the pairing of transmission with the LNG language and mandated oil and gas leasing, renewable energy companies see this as a step toward quicker deployment of IRA-fueled wind and solar.

Our thought bubble: There are still plenty of jurisdictional hurdles to figure out — and an election to get through — before a permitting overhaul can become law.

• But the bipartisan showing today definitely boosted the odds for this Congress.

The hydropower industry is not happy that it was largely left out of the permitting overhaul, Nick writes.

Why it matters: The industry's been lobbying hard to speed FERC's lengthy licensing process for dams, with a huge swath of the existing fleet up for renewal in the coming years.

• "To me, it's just outrageous to do a permitting reform bill and not reform hydropower," National Hydropower Association CEO Malcolm Woolf told Nick.

Driving the news: ENR debated hydro-related amendments from Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Steve Daines this morning.

• But they were withdrawn or rejected after Manchin committed to work on hydro licensing between now and when the bill hits the Senate floor.

Zoom in: The legislation does include language to let FERC extend license deadlines for certain projects for a few years.

• But it doesn't include broader provisions to change the process, despite a bipartisan push during this Congress.

What they're saying: By way of explanation, Manchin said that hydro "came late" to the conversation.

• "We've just got to get the language right," he said.
• Manchin later told reporters he has some concerns about which parts of the issue fall under the committee's jurisdiction.

👍 1. Deputizing: Senate ENR also voted 16–3 this morning to approve the nomination of Shannon Estenoz for deputy Interior secretary.

• Sens. Mike Lee, Murkowski and Hawley voted "no."

📺 2. On our screen: RMI is out with a Clean Growth Tool that identifies areas of the country where climate tech and renewables manufacturing is primed to thrive.

• Interesting note: Areas of the country with strong tech and semiconductor manufacturing supply chains — Utah, for instance — seem to be in position to expand into solar manufacturing.
• "It's part of the narrative for the Inflation Reduction Act.… This isn't about the usual suspect places competing and winning," RMI's Aaron Brickman said.

🚦 3. Green light: Several progressive environmental groups, including Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund and Friends of the Earth Action, formally backed Kamala Harris for president this morning.

• Some of these groups have clashed with the Biden administration on fossil fuel projects and what they view as its slow pace on regulatory action.

🌲 4. Evergreen's green blueprint: Influential climate group Evergreen Action just dropped a big list of policy proposals for a Harris administration and Congress, Axios' Ben Geman writes in today's Generate.