Earth Day 2016: Clean, efficient, and plentiful natural gas
As we prepare to commemorate the 46th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, the natural gas industry has much to celebrate. Although the unprecedented low price of oil in the last year-and-a-half has wreaked economic havoc in the gas industry, the reality is natural gas surpassed coal as America蘑菇视频 primary fuel. Plus, natural gas is now being exported in record amounts from the U.S. to Europe, Mexico and elsewhere.
While natural gas is considered an 鈥渁lternative fuel鈥� by the Environmental Protection Agency, the American Gas Association calls it the cleanest 鈥渇ossil fuel鈥� and a highly efficient form of energy. Natural gas has fewer impurities, is less chemically complex, and its combustion generally results in less pollution than other fuels, such as oil and coal. While technological advances allows cleaner energy production than ever for all fuels, the environmental controls on natural gas equipment is less expensive than those for other fuels because of natural gas蘑菇视频 inherent cleanliness.
Natural gas also is helping America develop clean alternative energy sources in various ways. For example, natural gas is used to make fertilizer for ethanol. Natural gas is used to make methane for hydrogen; hydrogen is used to eliminate soot for cleaner diesel fuel. Electric utilities increasingly use natural gas over coal to generate clean power. Natural gas is also used as a raw material for energy-efficient materials used in lightweight cars, wind power blades and solar panels.
Natural gas is highly efficient. About 90 percent of the natural gas produced is delivered to customers as useful energy. In contrast, only about 30 percent of the energy converted to electricity in conventional generating facilities reaches consumers. Using natural gas to replace less environmentally benign fuels can help address simultaneously a number of environmental concerns, such as smog, acid rain and greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the American Gas Association the number of natural gas residential customers increased 71 percent since 1970. Natural gas appliances used by residential customers are more energy efficient than their electric counterparts. Due to the increased energy efficiency of these appliances, the average customer today uses 40 percent less natural gas than they did 40 years ago.
Electricity demand is still growing to light our homes and businesses as well as power computers and other electronic devices. Clean-burning natural gas is used to generate an increasing amount of electricity, providing over one-fourth of our nation蘑菇视频 electricity in 2014. As older, coal-burning electric generation facilities are phased out for environmental reasons, the nation is relying more on natural gas to reduce pollution and total greenhouse gases produced by electric generation.
In the transportation sector, the U.S. Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center states that overall natural gas fuels (compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas) are both clean-burning fuels and perform well against current vehicle emissions standards.
Natural gas is increasingly being used to replace gasoline in smaller applications, such as in forklifts and commercial lawn equipment. And companies with diesel powered trucks in the U.S. are beginning to convert their fleets to natural gas 鈥� because of significant cost savings and by government pressure to reduce air pollution. As reported in Scientific American, because natural gas is a low-carbon, clean-burning fuel, a switch to natural gas in these applications can result in substantial reductions of hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and greenhouse gas emissions. Public transit systems throughout the U.S. are using an increased number of passenger buses that run on natural gas.
Some estimate that the U.S. has enough natural gas resources in the ground that equal twice the equivalent of oil in Saudi Arabia. Others say we have enough natural gas to power the U.S. for the next 80 years.
Inevitably, there are promising renewable forms of energy in our future. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, solar and wind-generated renewable power made up approximately 5 percent of our nation蘑菇视频 energy supply in 2014. Total renewables including hydropower brings the amount of renewable power to 13 percent.
As a nation, we have accomplished much since the early days of the Earth Day movement. We have a long way to go, but natural gas is the perfect fuel to bridge us to the ultimate goal of achieving a complete transition to abundant and cost effective renewable energy.
David Pearl is vice president of Infinity Resource Group, Inc., a professional mineral rights consulting firm, specializing in the leasing and sale of mineral rights in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. He is also managing director of a natural gas fuel dispensing patent holding company and director of a natural gas fuel island development company. Your questions are welcomed by calling 412-535-9200 or by emailing IRGOilGas@gmail.com.