By Amy Andryszak and Todd Snitchler
Published in the NY Daily News August 26, 2026
America’s energy future is stuck at the starting line. More than 2,600 gigawatts of new generation and storage capacity are waiting in interconnection queues. Twenty-five major natural gas pipelines are awaiting federal approval. Billions of dollars in investment are ready to move, but these projects remain stalled in the permitting process before construction can begin.
Meeting the nation’s growing energy needs will require significantly more infrastructure. Electrification is accelerating, factories are returning, data centers are coming online, and allies abroad are increasingly relying on American natural gas. These trends are driving sustained growth in demand for both electricity and natural gas.
Data centers consume roughly 4.5% of U.S. electricity today and could account for 9.5 to 15% by 2030, representing more than 40% of electricity demand growth over the next five years. U.S. LNG feed gas demand is projected to double to 36 billion cubic feet per day within five years, while natural gas consumption in the electric power sector is expected to reach a record high next year.
The infrastructure required to meet that demand follows a logical sequence. Pipelines must be in place to fuel power plants, power plants must be built to generate electricity, and transmission must be in place to carry that electricity to where it is needed. When permitting delays break that sequence at every link, costs rise and the system fails to deliver.
Read the full article here.
