Nationwide Expansion of Natural Gas to Meet AI Energy Demands

Core Insights - The increasing demand for power, particularly from AI data centers, is reshaping the U.S. natural gas landscape, with infrastructure expanding nationwide to meet this demand [1][2] Group 1: Natural Gas Demand and Infrastructure - Natural gas is becoming a crucial energy source to meet the reliability needs of data centers, which renewable sources alone cannot fulfill [2] - A significant agreement has been made between Energy Transfer (ET) and Entergy Louisiana to supply gas for Meta's Hyperion data center, with ET set to provide 250,000 million British thermal units (MMBtu) per day starting February 2028 [3] - Current natural gas pipeline projects are now distributed across all major U.S. regions to support the growing utility and industrial power demand [4] Group 2: Investment Opportunities - The Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF (ENFR) provides substantial exposure to U.S. and Canadian midstream companies focused on natural gas infrastructure, accounting for nearly 70% of its portfolio [4] - ENFR tracks the Alerian Midstream Energy Select Index (AMEI), which yields 5.5% as of January 14 [5] Group 3: Regional Developments - In the Southwest, ET is adding 2.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas capacity by late 2029 [8] - DT Midstream (DTM) and TC Energy (TRP) are also expanding their capacities in the Midwest by 2029 [8] - In the Northeast, companies like Williams (WMB), Enbridge (ENB), and TRP are expanding their reach, while WMB and Kinder Morgan (KMI) are increasing capacity in the Southeast from 2027 to 2029 [8] - ET is enhancing capacity in Texas to support growth in power plants and data centers, while KMI is working on a project to meet liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand next year [8]