Energy Exchange

Getting dangerously creative with oil and gas wastewater

By Nichole Saunders / Published: October 12, 2017

Look before you leap – why learning more about oilfield wastewater is critical to reducing health and safety risks.

The oil and gas industry has a massive wastewater problem. And if the growing dialogue about new ways of dealing with it are any indication, it may get worse if we aren’t careful.

Cost concerns, pressure to conserve water, and other factors have led some oil and gas companies to consider new ways to manage or repurpose wastewater – including using it to irrigate crops. That could create more problems than it solves.

Managing the massive amount of oil and gas wastewater has been a challenge for energy companies for generations. Some wells produce up to 10 times more wastewater than oil. In the United States, companies produce nearly 900 billion gallons of wastewater a year. That’s enough to fill over 1,000 football stadiums.

Ongoing Risks

Oil and gas wastewater is often many times saltier than sea water – and can ruin soil for generations if large amounts spill or leak during storage or transport.  In fact, landowners with a long history of oil and gas production on their lands know that a wastewater spill can cause much more long term damage to their land than an oil spill. Read More »

Posted in Natural Gas, produced water / Tagged , | Read 1 Response

This utility is training workers for the clean energy future – with an eye on inclusion and equity

By Lavannya Pulluveetil Barrera / Published: October 12, 2017

A clean energy future is attainable only with a proper workforce to support it, a fact recognized by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) and Illinois’ largest electric utility, ComEd. The ICC recently approved ComEd’s $30 million Workforce Development Implementation Plan – a first-of-its-kind plan that establishes three clean energy jobs training programs for the citizens of Illinois.

The bones of the plan were established by the Future Energy Jobs Act, a bipartisan clean energy development package passed by the state legislature in December 2016. The act directs ComEd to implement its job training programs with special attention given to the recruitment, training, and placement of economically-disadvantaged communities, foster care alumni, and returning citizens. Since the bill went into effect, ComEd has worked with a variety of groups – including Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and environmental justice stakeholders – to meet the legislation’s goals.

By crafting a comprehensive and inclusive workforce development plan, ComEd is setting an example that other utilities can follow as the U.S. transitions to a clean energy economy. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Equity, Illinois / Comments are closed

The two clean energy bills that could take California’s climate action to the next level

By Lauren Navarro / Published: October 9, 2017

Lawmakers recently addressed many critical issues for California: the housing shortage, parks bond, and early on in this year’s legislative session, climate change.

We urge Governor Brown to sign the important pieces of clean energy legislation that made it to his desk, including AB 1239 to support electric vehicle charging and AB 523 to protect clean energy funding for disadvantaged communities).

We are thrilled about three recent enactments: AB 1400 disallows Energy Commission funding of diesel generators in microgrids, and SB 242 and AB 1284, which standardize best practice guidelines for third parties administering Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) projects that finance energy efficiency upgrades or renewables installation for homes and businesses.

However, we can’t help but note that the biggest issues in electricity were left on the table to be further developed and voted on this fall and in 2018: SB 100, and AB 813. This extra time will give us the full, transparent, and deliberate legislative process that stakeholders were looking for in the last few weeks of session. So, what would these bills do? Read More »

Posted in California, Clean Energy / Read 1 Response

Climate and clean energy progress continues in spite of Clean Power Plan repeal rumors

By EDF Blogs / Published: October 6, 2017

By Charlie Jiang

According to news reports, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt is planning to start the process of repealing the Clean Power Plan very soon.

This seriously flawed and misguided effort would be a dangerous step backwards for public health and climate protections.

However, as the Trump Administration continues to unravel these protections, the transition to a clean energy future is accelerating. States, cities, and power companies are responding to the ongoing attacks by forging ahead with ambitious actions to slash carbon pollution in order to respond to the threat of climate change and accelerate the clean energy revolution. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Clean Power Plan / Comments are closed

Looking beyond pipelines to address New England’s electricity needs

By Liz Delaney / Published: October 4, 2017

Our dramatic seasonal temperature fluctuations here in New England create a unique energy challenge. Most days of the year (i.e. spring, summer, and fall), we have enough pipeline capacity, or space, to meet electricity and heating demand. However, approximately 40 days out of the year natural gas pipeline capacity becomes scarce, and in certain hours, unavailable; and the system relies on storage to maintain sufficient gas supply and delivery to homes, businesses, and electric power plants.

Many people look at the region’s pipeline constraints and assume that the only solution is to build more pipelines. This is a logical reaction, but it overlooks an opportunity to explore multiple solutions in a more economical and holistic way.  Rather than only looking at pipeline solutions, why not broaden the solution conversation by calling forth market competition?

The grid needs to foster participation by all resources

All resources can help ensure reliability during those key hours when pipelines are constrained. By allowing resources, such as batteries, pumped storage, demand response, and LNG, to compete, market forces can be used to fill in gaps, reward resources that are flexible and available to meet peak demand, and ultimately signal to investors when and where right-sized investments are needed. Read More »

Posted in Gas to Clean, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

Methane leadership is a competitive advantage, says global investor

By Sean Wright / Published: October 4, 2017

Early oil and gas industry adopters of methane management strategies and technologies are starting to see these reductions as an opportunity to gain a competitive edge.

Just last week, ExxonMobil announced  a new methane reduction program for its XTO Energy subsidiary, underscoring that the industry is paying close attention to the issue.

Methane, the main ingredient in natural gas, is leaked and vented across the oil and gas supply chain every day as the world energy mix shifts towards greater natural gas usage, according to the International Energy Agency. The oil and gas industry wastes billions of dollars a year of methane that simultaneously acts as a climate change accelerator, harming the brand of natural gas as a cheap and clean fuel source. Methane is 84 times more powerful as a heat-trapper than carbon in its first 20 years in the atmosphere.

In the second part of Environmental Defense Fund’s recent interview with Tim Goodman, Director of Engagement at London-based Hermes Investment Management, Goodman shares his views on why oil and gas companies addressing methane emissions are gaining a competitive edge, and how investors are paving the path for more companies to follow suit. (You can find the first part of the interview here.) Read More »

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