Energy Exchange

What does it really mean for a gas utility to go net-zero?

By Michael Colvin / Published: March 30, 2021

SoCalGas – the nation’s largest gas utility recently pledged to go net-zero on their greenhouse gas emissions. At face value, this is a great move, but what does this really mean for a gas-only company that has had some major climate missteps in the past? And what are the implications for current and future SoCalGas customers?

Today, customers use natural gas for a variety of purposes — to warm our homes, to take hot showers, to cook hot meals. But as part of the transition to a cleaner energy economy, more and more customers are shifting to electric appliances to perform those same functions. That shift means that they will be leaving the gas system to a decarbonized electric grid.

That’s great news for the climate, but it’s less great news if you’re a gas-only company or if you’re one of the few gas customers left on the system, especially if you are a large industrial customer and there is not an electric alternative available for your business process.

Also posted in California, Gas to Clean, Natural Gas, New Jersey, New York / Comments are closed

Careful accounting is critical to assessing the climate benefits of biomethane

By EDF Blogs / Published: March 24, 2021

By Mark Omara and Joe Rudek

Multiple states are exploring the use of renewable natural gas to decarbonize their gas systems. Renewable natural gas tends to be a generic term that describes a variety of fuels, including hydrogen, synthetic gas and biogas.

As we explained in an earlier blog, not all biogas (a biomethane precursor) is created equal. In order to provide climate benefits, renewable natural gas fuels must result in a net reduction in methane emissions, since methane is a very potent greenhouse gas that is rapidly increasing the rate of near-term global warming. The simple label of “bio” on the methane does not mean that it is automatically renewable or that it provides climate benefits. Both the selection of source of the organic fuels and the injection methods must be done correctly to provide climate benefits.

But what does “done correctly” mean?

Also posted in California, Methane / Comments are closed

Colorado’s landmark methane rules raise bar for federal climate action

By Dan Grossman / Published: March 18, 2021

Last month, Colorado regulators unanimously adopted nation-leading rules to cut methane pollution from pneumatic devices, an often overlooked but significant source of emissions from oil and gas production.

The commonsense standards drew support from the oil and gas industry and Colorado’s environmental community, and will require the use of modern, zero-emitting components at all new and most existing facilities statewide. In 2019 EDF helped secure adoption of rules that require operators to find and fix malfunctioning pneumatic devices during their required leak detection and repair inspections.

As the Biden administration moves to get methane regulation back on track at the federal level, it should take note of the progress being made in Colorado. Robust federal methane regulations, identified as a priority in the president’s Jan. 20 executive order, will depend on these kinds of commonsense, high-impact solutions.

Also posted in Colorado, Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

Market certainty critical to hitting ambitious state zero-emission truck goals

By Larissa Koehler / Published: February 26, 2021

Last year, a collection of 15 states and Washington D.C. committed to transitioning to zero-emission trucks and buses via a multi-state memorandum of understanding. This year will be a critical year for the effort, as these states begin to pinpoint the suite of policies needed to foster this transition in an equitable, maximally beneficial way.

The first critical step for these states is to get the ambition right. The targets set out in the MOU are a good start, but they can and should be more aggressive.

The second is to create the market certainty that will be critical to unleashing innovation.

Also posted in Air Quality, California, Electric Vehicles, NESCAUM / Comments are closed

A clear path to protecting Texas from the next weather crisis

By EDF Blogs / Published: February 25, 2021

By Colin Leyden and John Hall

The aftermath of the storm we just endured will linger a lot longer than the average Texas winter.

At least 80 people died. Millions of families lost power and water service as broad swaths of our critical infrastructure froze up. Families, businesses and cities are still tallying the damage, but this crisis could surpass Hurricane Harvey’s $125 billion price tag and become the most expensive natural disaster in Texas history. Our most vulnerable communities were hit hardest by outages, and, in a cruel twist, some Texans (many of whom lost service during the crisis) are facing exorbitant electric bills because of disaster-induced market volatility.

This week, Texas began to pick up the pieces, identify what went wrong, and develop a plan to protect our citizens from extreme weather crises in the future.

Texans are mad, and we deserve to be. Preparation could have avoided this disaster. Texas leaders knew what to do, and they didn’t do it.

Texans deserve a comprehensive analysis of what happened, why it happened, and what state leaders and energy industry participants will do to ensure it never happens again. Read More »

Also posted in Energy Efficiency, Energy Equity, General, Texas / Comments are closed

A year of data and one clear message: Permian flaring remains a major problem

By EDF Blogs / Published: February 11, 2021

By Colin Leyden and Ben Hmiel

Even amidst a global pandemic and market volatility that reduced oil and gas activity, at least one thing didn’t change in the Permian last year: operators can’t seem to keep their flares lit.

Throughout 2020, EDF conducted aerial surveys of portions of the Permian Basin to determine the performance of natural gas flares. Even when done properly, flaring is a wasteful, polluting practice that has earned industry “a black eye.” But when flares malfunction they also become major sources of highly potent, climate-polluting methane.

Over the course of 2020, we conducted periodic surveys of flares in various parts of the Permian. These took place in February, March, June and November, and included a series of consecutive, repeat surveys of one specific area on November 2, 4 and 6 meant to understand how long flare malfunctions persist. In total, we studied nearly 1,200 flares in the region.

Also posted in Methane, Methane regulatons, Natural Gas, PermianMAP, Texas / Tagged New Mexico | Comments are closed