Energy Exchange

How oil & gas states did (and did not) protect land and water in 2018

By EDF Blogs / Published: January 10, 2019

Keeping an eye on what happens with domestic oil and gas regulation is a bit like herding cats. We’ve seen encouraging progress on air quality issues related to oil and gas, but an equally critical front that’s seen major action is protection of our land and water resources.

More than 30 states actively regulate oil and gas development but their practices and rules vary significantly. Add the recent attention around industry’s impact on local communities – from earthquakes and the risk of spills to increased traffic and local air pollution – and it’s easy to miss the big trends that dominated regulatory agendas in 2018.

EDF devotes a significant amount of time tracking this activity, and 2018 was a busy year. Over a dozen states completed rule updates and other types of improvements this year on a variety of topics.

Here are the big things we saw in 2018.

Posted in Aliso Canyon, California, Colorado, Methane, Natural Gas, New York, Ohio, produced water, State, Texas, Wyoming / Tagged Gas storage, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, produced water, Water, well integrity | Comments are closed

How congestion pricing can help electrify the city’s bus fleet and improve air quality

By Rory Christian / Published: November 30, 2018

By Rory Christian, New York Director, Clean Energy, Environmental Defense Fund, and Adriana Espinoza, New York City Program Director, New York League of Conservation Voters

Tons of ink has been spilled on the woes of the New York City subway system and the congestion pricing solution that would help fund its long-overdue improvements.

But congestion pricing can be much more than just a subway-fixing fund. It could also enable the electrification of the city’s entire bus fleet – a move that would save fuel costs, reduce the city’s carbon emissions and improve air quality for millions of New Yorkers that live, work and learn along the city’s maze of bus routes.

Posted in Air Quality, Congestion pricing, New York / Comments are closed

California’s move to cut utility gas leaks is a critical part of moving towards a low carbon future

By Tim O'Connor / Published: October 10, 2018

As shown by the recent special report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, emissions from fossil fuel combustion in California and elsewhere present dire consequences for the planet. This means California, like the rest of the world, must take real steps now to shift toward a low carbon future.

Similar to many other developed economies, California has a vast oil and gas delivery infrastructure that is integrated into its modern way of life – a system that supports the combustion of fossil fuels in nearly every corner of society. As a result, making dramatic shifts toward a carbon neutral economy as envisioned in a recent executive order by Governor Brown will take a lot of investment. While this investment is underway, it’s appropriate to also make sure the system that delivers energy to homes and businesses is as environmentally benign as possible.

Posted in Aliso Canyon, California, Gas to Clean, General, Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

Can blockchain unlock a sustainable future?

By Jorge Madrid / Published: October 1, 2018

Blockchain – a really high-tech “spreadsheet” or ledger used to record transactions securely – offers exciting potential for clean energy. With the rapid rise of distributed energy technologies — such as rooftop solar, batteries, smart energy devices, and electric vehicles — some analysts believe the market for blockchain applications in the energy sector is many times larger than it is for cryptocurrency in the financial sector.

Blockchain technology may hold great promise for a sustainable future, but we need to solve some important challenges first.

Posted in Clean Energy, Fourth Wave, Grid Modernization / Tagged Community Solar | Read 2 Responses

Response to methane synthesis critiques

By Steven Hamburg / Published: June 25, 2018

A new paper published in Science last week is the culmination of an extensive amount of research conducted over the past six years examining methane emissions from the U.S. oil and gas supply chain. The study finds that the U.S. oil and gas industry emits 13 million metric tons of methane per year – 60% higher than the EPA Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHGI) estimates. Some industry sources have questioned the conclusions drawn in the paper and the methods employed to which I respond below.

The 25 co-authors of this Science paper represent 16 different research institutions. These experts were collectively responsible for generating most of the data analyzed and directly involved in writing the paper, which was subjected to a rigorous independent peer review as a condition of publication in one of the world’s top scientific journals.

Informed critiques are a valuable part of the scientific process. But the key issues raised by Energy in Depth (EID) and the American Gas Association seem to reflect a deep misunderstanding of the approaches used in the paper and the underlying data. Here, I explain the methods used to avoid bias and resolve differences among multiple data sets.

Posted in Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

Resilience proceeding gives FERC a chance to advance gas-electric coordination

By Natalie Karas / Published: May 9, 2018

Last September, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) started a conversation on resilience, asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to provide new revenues and guaranteed profits to the owners of old, inefficient coal and nuclear power plants to compensate these resources for certain reliability and (undefined) resilience attributes.

FERC swiftly disposed of that proposal in a January 8 order, finding that it was not warranted and would run counter to its pro-market regulatory model. FERC then asked all of the Regional Transmission Operators (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs) to explain how they are evaluating and addressing resilience within their respective markets.

Posted in Gas to Clean, Grid Modernization, Natural Gas, Regional Grid / Comments are closed