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Natural gas, always a favorite with electric utilities, has been lifted to dominance in the energy mix by the Trump administration. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has roundly attacked the economics and viability of wind and solar energy, most recently in an op-ed in the New York Post.
Wright will get pushback from utilities and the renewable energy industry, but for practical purposes going forward the United States is committed to reliance on oil, coal and natural gas: the fossil fuel triumvirate. Nuclear power also gets DOE’s nod. Oil is unlikely to be a primary fuel for utilities, except in rare emergencies. Coal has prescribed limits. They include the disinclination of utilities to build new coal plants or to encourage the opening of new mines. They fear new coal is a liability and could become a stranded asset under a different administration. Natural gas is the favored fuel of utilities on cost, ease of installation, maintenance and reliability. But it has some problems. Natural gas produces greenhouse gases, has pipeline leakage problems, and is opposed by states and localities seeking a zero-emissions future.
Potential legal battles are forming over the use of natural gas in some locations where state law has mandated only renewables going forward. Building new pipelines — desperately needed to get natural gas from the shale fields where it is abundant to the markets where it is needed — is as hard as it is to build new transmission lines, harder in most cases. Environmentalists, heavily committed to renewables, are opposed to natural gas but like it more than coal. However, Louisiana has declared natural gas a green fuel and this is a growing trend. There have been similar suggestions of reclassification in Europe.
Carbon capture — in the early stage at some utilities — may give natural gas recognition as a green fuel. Meanwhile natural gas is the new king in electricity generation, usurping its cousin, coal. The supply is plentiful. The need is palpable. The electric utility acceptance is near-universal. Trump administration support is overwhelming. Beyond gas delivery, turbines and other supply chain items are in short supply and subject to delivery times of up to five years; siting is still a local matter; and concern over global warming grows exponentially.
The United States Energy Association, which is fuel-neutral, will examine natural gas and its future here and abroad at its next virtual press briefing on Wednesday, July 9, at 11 a.m. EDT.
As usual, a panel of senior journalists who cover energy will interview a panel of industry experts on the subject before the house.
Llewellyn King, syndicated columnist and broadcaster, has organized and will moderate the briefing. USEA President and CEO Mark Menezes, a former Deputy Secretary of Energy, will be on hand to contribute his deep knowledge of energy.
The Experts:
- Rudy Garza, President and CEO, CPS Energy, San Antonio
- Branko Milicevic, Secretary, Group of Experts on Gas, UN Economic Commission for Europe
- Austin Hastings, Vice President, Gas Engineering, PG&E
- Michael Caravaggio, Vice President, Energy Supply, EPRI
- Dustin Meyer, Senior Vice President, Policy, Economics & Regulatory Affairs, API
- Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director, Center for Energy, Climate and Environment, The Heritage Foundation
The Reporters:
- Rod Kuckro, Freelance
- Tim Gardner, Reuters
- Ken Silverstein, Forbes
- Matt Chester, Energy Central
- Peter Behr, Politico’s E&E News
- Alex Procyk, Oil & Gas Journal
- Adam Clayton Powell III, PBS
