Implications of Greater Reliance on Natural Gas
Aspen Environmental Group’s Catherine Elder served as the principal author and analyst for “Implications of Greater Reliance on Natural Gas for Electricity Generation.” Sponsored by the American Public Power Association (APPA), with financial support from the Utility Air Regulatory Group, the study looked at what changes would need to occur should EPA rules push utilities across the country to switch their coal-fired power plants to burn natural gas. Among the initial findings of this study was the fact that at only 20% renewables, no new nuclear power and no carbon capture and sequestration means the current U.S. gas burn for electricity generation must increase to three times current levels, even with much lower load growth. The study describes the need for large increases in natural gas pipeline capacity, new underground storage needs, tariff and operating rule changes needed to address incongruities between the services electricity generators need and a gas pipeline system built to serve primarily residences and industrial baseload demand, and reliability issues as electric utilities switch to natural gas-fired generation. Ms. Elder presented implications of the study at the Minnesota Rural Electric Association’s August 2011 Energy Issues Summit, at a public workshop for the Board of Public Works in Holland, Michigan and at the 14th Annual Energy, Utility and Environment Conference held February 2011 in Phoenix. The study continues to be used and cited by utilities across the country considering resource planning choices and provided a reference point to California Energy Commission staff preparing their 2011 natural gas assessment.
In a further example, Ms. Elder spoke in January 2012 about the implications of natural gas and electricity convergence at the Plugging into Natural Gas Energy Summit, sponsored by Northwest Gas Association, Bonneville Power Administration and the Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee. Ms. Elder’s provocative presentation left lasting impressions with the audience. In the meantime, the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) has formed Gas Electric Harmonization committee, whose goal is to figure out whether there are standards the NAESB could change that would reduce the discontinuities that affect electricity generators that use natural gas. Ms. Elder has joined this committee and the her APPA study will be used as one of its reference materials.
Click here to purchase the article “Implications of Greater Reliance on Natural Gas”.
Click here to read presentations “2010 Joint Action Workshop Presentations”.
