America has the energy resources to meet rising demand. The challenge now is building the infrastructure needed to deliver that energy. A commonsense energy approach should make it easier to invest in and build the infrastructure that will keep pace with a growing economy.
Every day, we read about the transformation we are facing: the rise of artificial intelligence and the data centers needed to support it, a growing world population, and expanding manufacturing needs here in the United States. The global population alone is expected to increase by approximately 69 million people next year. These forces are driving significant growth in energy demand.
Meeting that growth will require significant investment in new energy production and the pipelines, transmission, storage, liquefied natural gas facilities, and other infrastructure needed to support it. The public sector cannot support this incredible growth alone. Private-sector investment will be critical.
For decades, municipalities have utilized public-private partnerships to bring critical infrastructure projects to fruition. Roads supporting new commercial development, water systems serving new housing, and other major projects have often depended on private investment alongside public resources.
These partnerships work because investors have some confidence in the rules governing them. Projects that take years to permit and billions of dollars to build require approval processes that are steady, transparent, and predictable. The same principle applies to the energy infrastructure America needs today.
The U.S. is already one of the world’s largest energy producers, but building the infrastructure needed to move that energy remains unnecessarily difficult. Pipelines, LNG facilities, and other major projects can face cumbersome and duplicative permitting processes that add years of uncertainty before construction can begin.
As the Department of Energy has warned, “a burdensome federal permitting process undermines America’s competitiveness and national security.” The department has pledged to “prioritize more efficient permitting to enable private sector investments” in energy infrastructure. Following through would help move private capital into the projects needed to strengthen reliability and keep American energy affordable.
Consider Energy Transfer’s Desert Southwest Pipeline expansion, a more than $5 billion private investment in energy infrastructure serving Arizona and New Mexico. The project would increase pipeline capacity from 1.5 billion cubic feet per day to 2.3 billion cubic feet per day, helping growing population centers and commercial and industrial customers secure additional natural gas. It would also put American-made steel to work building infrastructure designed to serve the region for decades. That kind of long-term capital commitment requires a permitting process that is predictable enough to make investment possible.
The consequences of permitting uncertainty extend across all aspects of the energy sector. A Wood Mackenzie analysis reported by Reuters found that delays affecting large wind and solar projects could put $121 billion in private investment and 92 gigawatts of planned generation at risk. Whatever the energy source, capital-intensive projects become harder to finance when investors cannot predict whether or when they will be allowed to build.
For decades, the private sector has financed, built, maintained, and operated much of our energy infrastructure. Projects such as the Desert Southwest Pipeline, Mountain Valley Pipeline, and Western Gateway Pipeline are expanding capacity and strengthening reliability in fast-growing regions.
Affordable, reliable energy is becoming a competitive advantage as manufacturers, data centers, and emerging industries choose where to invest.
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Unwieldy government constraints create uncertainty and limit our capacity to meet growing demand while keeping energy affordable.
Energy infrastructure can drive economic growth in the regions that need it most. Cities and states that invest in this infrastructure will attract new companies, and those that pair that investment with reasonable, predictable regulatory requirements will be best positioned to succeed.
Patrice Douglas is an attorney and former chairwoman of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.