COMMODITIES 2026: Trump administration eyes tech, AI to streamline energy permitting

The Trump administration is likely to prioritize deploying technology to enhance energy project permitting across US federal agencies in 2026. The effort follows its flurry of executive actions aimed at speeding permitting in 2025.

"I think that's really the next frontier for us," Emily Domenech, executive director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, said in a recent interview with Platts, part of S&P Global Energy. "We'll be partnering with the agencies on the council to fund efforts to incorporate new technologies to make the process faster."

The permitting council, which involves multiple federal agencies, was created under the 2015 Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act – Title 41 (FAST-41) to increase transparency and improve coordination among the numerous federal agencies involved in permitting reviews.

Through its statutory authority, the council can transfer funding to agencies to advance permitting technology and support major infrastructure projects covered under FAST-41.

According to Domenech, the permitting council will work with the White House Council on Environmental Quality to help agencies implement the CEQ's permitting technology action plan, released in May.

That technology road map is designed to standardize the use of cloud-based software tools, breaking down silos that can slow communication among permitting agencies.

Domenech said the technology push is also likely to include artificial intelligence use by agencies in areas "where AI can be much more efficient and provide more thorough responses."

The permitting council intends to partner with the Department of Energy to deploy the DOE's PermitAI tool to more agencies so that DOE can expand its database of environmental documents and so that the administration can "beta test that tool to see if it's something that we can expand across the government," according to Domenech.

Through a project known as PermitAI, the DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is beta-testing three AI tools intended to allow regulators evaluating new projects to quickly locate relevant environmental review documents, summarize a large volume of public comments, and analyze historical data. The AI tools are paired with the lab's database of National Environmental Policy Act documents.

From the developers' standpoint, she said, AI could be used to find "the five reviews we've identified that could be useful for your project so that you don't have to redo a cultural assessment, or you don't need to redo an [Endangered Species Act] survey because it's already been done for another project," she added.

"I would love to be able to take advantage of existing data sets to do permit evaluation in the future," Domenech said. "I think we'll get better outcomes for both project developers and for environmental mitigation, if that's the approach we take."

Permitting during a shutdown

Elsewhere, Domenech detailed the council's recent efforts to support the Alaska LNG project, a priority of the Trump administration.

As part of the council's remit, it tracks FAST-41-covered projects through a public dashboard, where timetables are posted. The council also seeks to harmonize and troubleshoot interagency permitting efforts for complex projects, which typically involve investments exceeding $200 million.

During the 2025 federal government shutdown, which became the longest in history, Domenech said the permitting council was able to continue supporting major infrastructure projects because it receives multiyear funding.

While agencies were largely shuttered, the council's biggest role was "identifying staff who needed to continue working on our projects and offering agencies the opportunity to utilize our funding to bring those staff back," she said.

Such steps included efforts to keep permitting on track for the Alaska LNG project, so that it could secure a final authorization related to marine mammal impacts as planned by the end of 2025. A final letter of authorization was released by the National Marine Fisheries Service Dec. 10.

The estimated $44 billion project still faces hurdles in securing binding long-term commercial contracts and financing. One permit needed for the long-running project was nearing its expiration date, risking a broader delay until 2026.

Domenech said the council identified over 20 staff that needed to come in for a day's worth of review, as part of the Marine Mammal Protection Act permitting process.

The council has also begun using its authority to enter into agreements with states, such as Alaska, to assist with permitting.

"That authority existed in the stack 10 years ago — we've never used it until we signed our first MOU with the State of Alaska in August," she added.

Under the MOU, the council will help Alaska identify FAST-41 projects and provide dedicated staff for each covered project, with regularly scheduled coordination calls.

"It's being empowered by the White House to really utilize the full extent of the authority we were given by Congress," Domenech said.

Legislative wishes

As Congress resumes work on infrastructure permitting legislation, Domenech identified "litigation reform" as a priority from her perspective on the council.

The House Natural Resources Committee has advanced measures aimed at reducing NEPA litigation as part of the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act or SPEED Act, a major legislative vehicle this session.

Some aspects of the bill are proving contentious in Congress, however, such as whether a court should retain the ability to stop construction if it finds fault with an environmental analysis.

Domenech said changes to the legal landscape are needed to support the executive branch's efforts to accelerate permitting.

"There's no point in speeding up the permitting process if every single permit gets litigated," she said.