Energy Exchange

Biden wants facts first: pauses LNG permits to analyze climate impact.

The Biden administration paused approval of new facilities that would export liquified natural gas in order to study the impact of these projects on the climate. The Natural Gas Act charges the U.S Department of Energy with determining whether gas exports to certain countries are in the public interest. With the damage caused by climate change getting worse, the President is right to ask for the facts before moving forward. After all, natural gas produces carbon dioxide when burned and methane pollution when leaked — both powerful climate pollutants.

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Posted in Natural Gas / Authors: / Comments are closed

Analysis: Cutting oil and gas methane is one of Canada’s most affordable climate solutions

By Ari Pottens and Maureen Lackner

New research confirms that cutting methane emissions from the oil and gas sector is one of the fastest and most affordable steps Canada can take to help address the climate crisis. According to the report by Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors, Canada’s upstream oil and gas companies can eliminate 75% of their methane emissions at an average cost of about $11 per tonne. 

Marginal Cost & Potential of Methane Abatement Measures at Gas Sites

This is one of the biggest bargains that exists when it comes to climate solutions. For example, were oil and gas companies subject to Canada’s entire carbon price, they would need to pay $65 per tonne of carbon pollution they create. By 2030, this figure will rise to $170 per tonne. Meanwhile, technologies that can directly capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are estimated to cost between $125 and $335 USD per tonne, an astronomical figure compared to methane abatement.  Read More »

Also posted in Methane, Methane regulatons / Comments are closed

The power grid and disinformation

Texans know better than to believe the lies. But, whenever severe weather strikes the state and the isolated electric grid is imperiled, they’re always fed them: “Green energy” is offered up as the ultimate scapegoat, facts be damned.

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Also posted in General, Grid Modernization, Regional Grid, Texas / Comments are closed

Proposed Acquisition of New Jersey Utilities Must be Consistent with Climate Goals

Two New Jersey gas utilities owned by South Jersey Industries, SJI,— South Jersey Gas and Elizabethtown Gas — are petitioning the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, BPU, for approval to be acquired by JP Morgan-backed investment firm IIF. The companies’ proposal relies on a business model of continued expansion of the natural gas distribution system, and suggests that decarbonization can be achieved by blending hydrogen and biomethane into gas pipelines. But increasing gas use is not aligned with state climate policy, and the proposed blending options are not assured climate solutions. The BPU should impose conditions on the proposed transaction to ensure consistency with state climate goals. Additionally, all New Jersey policymakers must recognize the importance of avoiding wasteful investments in gas system expansion — in particular, legislation promoting gas utility spending on biomethane and hydrogen raises serious concerns.

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Also posted in New Jersey / Comments are closed

Research shows gathering pipelines in the Permian Basin leaking 14 times more methane than officials estimate

Methane plume detected on a gathering pipeline during 2021 survey.

Methane plume detected on a gathering pipeline during 2021 survey.

By Erin Murphy and Jevan Yu

Methane emissions from natural gas gathering pipelines in the U.S. Permian Basin are at least 14 times greater than Environmental Protection Agency national inventory estimates, according to new peer-reviewed research from EDF, Stanford University and the University of Arizona. Gathering lines transport unprocessed gas from well sites to processing facilities and vary widely in size and pressure, with diameters ranging from two inches to as large as 30 inches. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with over 84 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide over its first 20 years in the atmosphere, and this new research indicates the importance of finding and fixing pipeline methane leaks to mitigate the climate crisis.

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Also posted in Air Quality, BLM Methane, General, Methane, Methane regulatons, PermianMAP / Comments are closed

As nations sign on to end routine flaring, Biden admin must act

The last two months have seen encouraging momentum in the effort to tackle emissions of methane — a greenhouse gas that drives over a quarter of current warming — and the practice of flaring, which is a major source of energy waste and methane pollution.

Starting with last month’s Major Economies Forum, one of the last major climate gatherings before COP 27 in Egypt, signatories to the Global Methane Pledge introduced a new goal to end routine flaring as soon as possible, and by 2030 at the latest.

Then, just this week, the U.S. and Mexico announced a commitment to cooperate and help Mexico develop a plan to eliminate routine flaring in alignment with the Global Methane Pledge.

Fast action to end routine flaring is critical for reducing emissions of methane, protecting human health and the climate, and stopping needless waste of energy resources as the world faces an energy crisis spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Now, the U.S. has work to do to ensure domestic policies can live up to our own global commitments. Fortunately, both the Bureau of Land Management and the Environmental Protection Agency have the authority and obligation to implement strong rules that end routine flaring.

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Also posted in Air Quality, BLM Methane, Colorado, Methane regulatons, PermianMAP / Tagged | Comments are closed