SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters Breakingviews) - Joe Biden’s cabinet can benefit from leaning into the free market. Investors are flooding into companies that could bring both energy and transportation into a greener and more efficient future. That should help the U.S. president-elect’s nominees to lead those respective agencies, Jennifer Granholm and Pete Buttigieg, in their roles. That’s assuming they can lift – not implement – red tape. Biden has gone for the Democratic crowd-pleasers to push the charge on a more sustainable future. As governor of Michigan, Granholm successfully implemented a mandate for 10% of the state’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2015. And as head of the state with America’s auto businesses, she knows the ins and outs of the industry. Meanwhile Buttigieg is credited with revitalizing South Bend, Indiana while he was mayor, including a program to improve car and foot traffic. Those backgrounds only partially prepare them to take on Biden’s ambitious $2 trillion push for clean energy and infrastructure. He wants new roads and bridges, a carbon-pollution free power sector by 2035 and investments in battery technology for electric vehicles. It’s a massive undertaking for the two federal government newbies. The flush private sector, already headed in that direction, could lend a helping hand. In 2019, infrastructure funds raised $98 billion, pushing dry powder to $212 billion, twice as much as 2015, according to Prequin. Meantime, renewable energy use is growing. The International Energy Agency said last month that fuels used to generate renewable power should increase 7% this year while global energy demand is set to decline 5%. Companies from oil giant BP to blank check firms are investing big in companies that depend on solar and wind-powered fuels. State and local governments will have to be on board, too. For example, adding a subway line to the D.C. metro can take up to 25 years and involve officials from Maryland and Virginia. States and cities also have different permitting processes for adding electric vehicle charging stations. Still Granholm and Buttigieg will have sympathetic ears to work together to lift the red tape, which is a massive hurdle. And a large part of Biden’s plan depends on Congress, where there is bipartisan consensus for an infrastructure reboot but disagreements over how to pay for it. Private sector partnerships could appeal to Republicans who are concerned about spending while giving Biden’s new administration a big, green win.