WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Tuesday, readers! If you haven’t seen the news, it was just announced that country music icon Dolly Parton died at age 80. She will live on through her music and will certainly be missed by all. You can watch one of our favorite performances of Dolly’s “I Will Always Love You” here. 

• 🇺🇲⚡🇨🇳 In today’s edition of Daily on Energy, we’re taking a closer look at a new report that reveals the U.S. is pulling ahead of China in building natural gas projects that will power artificial intelligence and data centers. Keep reading to find out how much more the U.S. is building. 
• 🗽💧💸 Plus, we’re previewing Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin’s trip to New York later in the week. 

Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list. 

U.S. PULLS AHEAD OF CHINA IN BUILDING GAS FOR AI

The United States has a leg up over China in the race to power artificial intelligence using what can be found right under our feet: natural gas. And we’re building a lot of it. 

A report released this morning by the nonprofit organization Global Energy Monitor has found that the U.S. is building twice as much natural gas as China, much of which will be used to power AI operations. 

How much is being built? The analysis found that the capacity of natural gas projects under development in the U.S. in the first half of this year was 50% higher than the total for 2025. In total, there were about 378 gigawatts of gas power projects under development so far. 

ADVERTISEMENT

And around half of that will be used for data centers. The group estimated around 189 gigawatts of new gas-fired capacity in development during the first half of 2026 is planned for data centers. This is nearly double the total in development all of last year, around 97 gigawatts. For comparison, one gigawatt is estimated to power about 750,000 homes.

Compared to China: While China had a narrow lead for under-construction natural gas projects last year, the U.S. is pulling ahead. U.S. natural gas projects under construction grew by 76% between January and June, hitting 52 gigawatts’ worth of new power. About 16.9 gigawatts of this is intended directly for data centers. In China, only about 24 gigawatts of natural gas are under construction.

At this rate, the U.S. is building twice as much gas-fired capacity as China. According to the report, the U.S. also has nearly three times as much natural gas in development, including projects in pre-construction or simply announced.

Getting past delays: Of the 378 gigawatts of natural gas being developed, most is in the pre-construction and announcement stages. As a result, many of these projects are still subject to years-long delays due to long lead times for key materials.

Global Energy Monitor said that many companies are looking to get around these hurdles by choosing materials that, while less efficient, can be installed faster. This includes using engines instead of gas turbines. 

Many projects, though – making up two-thirds of gas-fired capacity under development worldwide – still have not yet named a turbine or engine manufacturer. 

Read more from Callie here. 

ZELDIN HEADS TO NEW YORK 

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin will be traveling to New York tomorrow until Friday, where he will be making several notable stops. 

The EPA previewed Zeldin’s trip for Maydeen, noting that he will be participating in a roundtable with local elected leaders to discuss energy affordability and will be touring a drinking water facility. The EPA in May provided more than $185 million to reduce lead exposure in New York drinking water. 

Zeldin will also be making his way home to Long Island, where he will be making a “major announcement” about the Long Island Sound Partnership and separately participate in an event focused on EPA’s Make America Healthy Again efforts.

The Long Island Sound Partnership is a bi-state collaboration that was formed by the EPA, New York, and Connecticut in 1985 that is aimed at restoring the Long Island Sound. The administrator visited Long Island Sound in June, where he discussed ways to preserve the tidal estuary. 

All the rest

A MONTANA AND DAKOTAS OIL AND GAS LEASE SALE: The Interior Department is auctioning off more than 3,000 acres of federal land in Montana and the Dakotas for oil and gas drilling later this fall. 

The Bureau of Land Management announced this morning that it has set an oil and gas lease sale for 20 parcels of land spanning 3,388 acres for Oct. 27. 

The agency said scoping on the parcels was completed in May, and a public comment period on the selection closed last month. 

Members of the public will still have an opportunity to object, however, as BLM has opened a 30-day public protest period that will end on Sept. 24. 

As we’ve done with lease sales in the past, we’ll be following the auction closely to provide Daily on Energy readers with the results. 

CREWS GAIN SOME CONTROL OF THE NEVADA HAWK FIRE: Firefighters are gaining some control over the Hawk Fire in the Sierra Nevada foothills, which has led to evacuation orders and warnings for thousands in the area. 

The fire began on Saturday and has burned nearly 15,051 acres as of this morning. Nearly 90,000 people were under evacuation orders and warnings yesterday, but that number has since been reduced to about 63,000. 

The fire is just miles away from the California state line. Nevada’s governor has declared an emergency in Washoe County and has activated the Nevada National Guard. 

The wildfire as of today is about 27% contained, but there are concerns that the winds and dry conditions could threaten neighborhoods around Reno. KCRA 3 reported this morning that 32 homes have been destroyed and seven people have been injured. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TARGETS HISTORIC PRESERVATION RULES TO SPEED UP PERMITTING: The Trump administration is ramping up its efforts to streamline and shorten the federal permitting process, this time targeting historic preservation rules. 

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued a secretarial order last week for agency employees to create a list of activities that can be exempt from reviews required under the National Historic Preservation Act. 

A spokesperson for the agency told E&E News this week that the order will allow Interior to “consider any effects on historic properties in a more meaningful and timely fashion, and require the same of states and tribes.”

In the order, one of the changes made is to what is known as "offsite compensatory mitigation.” This is a practice that often involves the preservation or restoration of natural resources away from the project site in question to offset unavoidable environmental damage on site. The order deemphasizes this practice, and says it is “disfavored as a matter of policy.” 

Currently, activities such as oil and gas drilling – or even the president’s renovations in Washington, D.C. – are subject to NHPA reviews. 

EUROPE NATURAL GAS PRICES TO COMPETE WITH ASIA FOR SUPPLIES, GOLDMAN SACHS SAYS: European gas prices may need to climb above €100 or $117 per megawatt-hour in December to compete with Asia for limited liquefied natural gas supplies to last the winter, Goldman Sachs says. 

Europe’s gas benchmark recently rose to the highest level in five months, but that might not be enough to divert liquefied natural gas from Asia if the Middle East conflict continues into next year, Goldman Sachs’ analysts Samantha Dart and Laura Cyr wrote, according to Bloomberg. 

The continent’s gas storage is currently 62% filled, which is the lowest it's been in several years. 

Europe’s current benchmark natural gas price, the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) price, “will not be enough for Europe to manage storage through winter,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote. 

“In a scenario where Middle East energy exports normalize only gradually through 2027, we estimate that December 2026 TTF would likely need to move above €100/MWh,” the analysts said, adding that is 110% above Goldman Sachs’ base case of 50 euros per MWh. 

ICYMI – NEVADA SUES TRUMP OVER COLORADO RIVER MANAGEMENT PLAN: The state of Nevada has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its plan to cut its Colorado River water usage, insisting the cuts go too far. 

The suit specifically targets the administration’s 10-year framework for managing the Colorado River, which includes cuts for Nevada, Arizona, and California. 

In the lawsuit, the state claims that the existing plan would put as much as 71% of Nevada’s water allocation from the river at risk, threatening the environment and economy of the state, according to The Hill. 

Nevada is asking a federal court to throw out the 10-year management plan, accusing the administration of not following necessary procedures such as considering a reasonable range of alternatives and accounting for environmental impacts of the framework. 

RUNDOWN 

The Associated Press Newsom returns to a defining California fight: Who pays for wildfire damage?

High Country News What Standing Rock’s propaganda war means today

The Guardian US fossil fuel lobbyists also represent hundreds of cities fighting for climate damages