25,000 Miles of New Natural Gas Pipelines by 2050? What It Will Take to Meet Growing US Demand

North American natural gas markets face severe midstream infrastructure constraints that necessitate urgent legislative permitting reform. Amy Andryszak, President and CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), highlights that meeting future energy needs requires an additional 54 BCF per day of transmission capacity and 25,000 miles of new pipeline by 2050. Achieving this growth demands statutory updates to the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act, alongside judicial reforms to curb excessive litigation. Surging electricity demand from data centers and LNG exports, combined with supply chain bottlenecks—specifically 30-to-42-month lead times for gas turbines and rising steel costs—threatens grid reliability. Without streamlined regulatory processes and infrastructure expansion, constrained markets like New England remain at high risk of supply crunches as the country transitions toward increased electrification and industrial reshoring.