Tim Ryan: 'Race against the clock.' Natural gas can break world’s addiction to coal.
Tim Ryan
Sat, June 24, 2023
Tim Ryan served ten terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2003 to 2023. He serves as a co-chair of the Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future Leadership Council.
Climate change is real, and it’s a global problem that demands the utmost urgency.
As we race against the clock, the argument shouldn’t just be over fuels, but what achieves our climate reduction goals as quickly as possible. Natural gas has proven it can be deployed quickly to break the world’s addiction to coal and drive down global emissions.
The United States is doing its part to meet our climate goals — over the last 15 years, U.S. power-sector carbon emissions have dropped 36 percent, with 58 percent of those savings coming from switching coal power plants to natural gas. Working alongside renewables, natural gas has proven to be a secure, reliable, and affordable energy source powering American families and businesses.
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Troy Balderson: Wind, solar are unreliable. Natural gas green, clean and abundant under our feet
May 3, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat running for an Ohio U.S. Senate seat, speaks at the Firefighters Local 67 in Columbus after the polls closed on primary election day. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch
Although China is the world’s leader when it comes to producing renewable energy, when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining, it’s burning more coal than the rest of the world combined. And it’s about to get worse.
U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry said there’s nothing any one country can do to stop a 1.5-degree Celsius rise in global temperatures, until China curbs its appetite for burning coal. Yet, China’s newest coal plant additions would be larger than any nation’s existing coal fleet.
Why? Because China has no other clean, abundant, and secure energy like natural gas to support its renewable power sources. The picture is the same across many developing countries throughout Asia.
A recent analysis by Obama Administration Energy Secretary Ernie Moniz said energy security and climate are intertwined, and that natural gas is the practical solution for a low carbon world for decades to come. This is particularly true of emerging economies in Asia, who rely on coal as their secure energy source. That must change, and America can help.
One recent study found converting the top 5 percent of the world’s dirtiest coal plants to natural gas cuts global carbon emissions by 30 percent. That requires ramping up abundant natural gas production and reforming permitting in the U.S. to move those supplies where they are needed for the long-term.
And while we must also be scaling up renewables to decarbonize our grid, we must be realistic about how quickly that can happen.
Some demand a renewable-only energy strategy without natural gas, but that surrenders our energy security to China, which controls 80 percent of rare earth mineral production needed to produce the batteries, solar panels, and windmills we’d need to do it. That’s what they want.
As a longtime Midwestern Congressman who saw NAFTA send our middle-class jobs overseas, becoming energy dependent on hostile nations isn’t in America’s long-term national security interest. Investing in more domestic energy sources like natural gas means long-term economic stability, driven by many union jobs that pay good salaries. This is a complement to the renewable and electric-vehicle future we want. In Congress, I fought for the Voltage Valley - more charging stations, more electric vehicles, and new battery production. But natural gas must be part of that equation to meet the expected electricity demand and keep costs affordable.
A renewable-only pathway also requires a costly and time-consuming expansion of our current electric grid – a 60 percent increase according to a Princeton University study. More transmission lines from new windmills and solar farms require time to organize investor capital, site, permit, and construct across neighborhoods, forests, wetlands and more – all prone to local opposition.
One of the biggest technical challenges remains on how to store the energy to meet our 24/7 energy needs, especially against warnings of lithium battery shortages in the near term. Ninety percent of the battery supply chain to achieve desired emission reductions isn’t even built yet, according to one electric car maker.
More: 15-acre rechargeable battery storage system proposed for Licking County
America is at a critical turning point as the clock is ticking on climate change. We can either get serious about expanding a proven emission reduction strategy at home and around the world with natural gas or hope an unproven all-in electric strategy can be delivered quickly, affordably, and reliably – with fewer carbon emissions.
Natural gas, working with renewables, provides that pathway.
Tim Ryan served ten terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2003 to 2023. He serves as a co-chair of the Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future Leadership Council.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Tim Ryan: All-in electric strategy unproven. Natural gas can break world’s coal addiction
Gas Is Here to Stay for Decades, Say Fossil Fuel Heavyweights
Stephen Stapczynski
Fri, June 23, 2023
(Bloomberg) -- The biggest fossil fuel players are making the message clear: the transition to a green future will require much more natural gas.
From Shell Plc to Chevron Corp., the world’s top producers plan to accelerate investments in the fuel. China keeps signing deals to buy liquefied natural gas past 2050, with European importers not far behind. The US is forging ahead with new projects that will make it the world’s top LNG exporter for the foreseeable future.
This momentum marks a turning point for gas. The “cleanest” fossil fuel was seen as a short-term bridge to greener energy sources, and environmentalists have sought to phase it out amid worries that gas is far dirtier than advertised. Now, the idea that gas demand will peak anytime soon is disappearing.
“LNG sellers look around this market and feel pretty confident that gas demand will be with us for decades to come,” said Ben Cahill, senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the subsequent energy crisis and record-breaking price surge, has changed the long-term prospects for natural gas. Europe is rushing to replace Russian fuel while emerging nations are signing long-term deals to avoid future shortages.
China signed a 27-year agreement with Qatar on Tuesday to safeguard its energy security, and a German importer on Thursday inked a landmark contract to buy LNG from the US through 2046 — even though Germany aims to be carbon neutral a year before that.
About 60 billion cubic meters of new gas production capacity has been approved since Russia invaded Ukraine, nearly double the rate compared with the past decade, according to the International Energy Agency.
Doubling down on gas also makes sense for shareholders, said Saul Kavonic, a Sydney-based energy analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG. The fuel has been profitable over the last few years while the pursuit of green energy targets has been more of a struggle, he said.
Gas has been the main earnings driver for energy companies including Shell and BP Plc over the past few years. Producers had plunged into the lower-margin renewable power business years before, but are now rethinking those investments due to lackluster returns.
“Liquefied natural gas will play an even bigger role in the energy system of the future than it plays today,” Shell’s Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan told investors this month as he outlined a strategy shift following his promotion to the role in January. “LNG can be easily transported to places where it is needed most. And what’s more, on average, natural gas emits about 50% less carbon emissions than coal when used to produce electricity.”
Shell plans to increase natural gas investments by about 25% this year to a record $5 billion and keep spending at that level through 2025. Last year, the London-based company joined Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips to invest in Qatar’s $30 billion LNG expansion, the biggest ever in the industry.
Gas is also key to Italian energy group Eni SpA’s growth plans — that was a big motivation behind Friday’s $4.9 billion deal to buy Neptune Energy Group Ltd. Elsewhere, Romania’s two biggest natural gas producers agreed this week to invest as much as €4 billion ($4.4 billion) in a Black Sea gas project after decades of debate. Chevron and Exxon are adding more staff to build up their gas trading activities in London and Singapore.
In the US, the development of new LNG plants is being underpinned as buyers in countries including Germany and Japan — both of which have ambitious green goals — sign long-term contracts with exporters. TotalEnergies SE gave a boost this month to plans to build a US export terminal, agreeing to buy stakes in the project and its developer. The French company is also in discussions with Saudi Arabia to invest in its massive natural gas project.
Still, there is a debate over how much gas and investment will be needed, with demand likely to hinge on how successful nations are in reducing emissions.
The IEA says gas demand needs to fall dramatically by the end of the decade in order to keep the world on track for net zero by 2050. The agency in 2021 calculated that all new developments of oil, gas and coal fields need to be stopped to meet that scenario.
Producers and financial institutions need to “commit to end financing and investment in exploration for new oil and gas fields, and expansion of oil and gas reserves,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters this month in New York. “We are hurtling towards disaster, eyes wide open.”
One of the biggest arguments against natural gas is methane emissions, a byproduct of gas production that traps more than 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide in its first two decades in the atmosphere. Gas leakage of more than about 3% makes the fuel worse for the climate than coal, according to a study published by the National Academy of Sciences, undermining industry claims that it is a cleaner fossil fuel.
In order to market natural gas as a clean alternative to coal, energy majors are working to cut methane releases. Shell, Exxon Mobil and more than a dozen other producers aim to achieve “near-zero” methane emissions by 2030 as part of an initiative launched last year.
“By finally taking the reduction of methane emissions seriously, the majors believe they can thread the needle of making a positive contribution to climate change and keeping their assets commercially relevant,” said Ira Joseph, a global fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.
--With assistance from David Stringer, Rachel Morison, William Mathis and Aaron Clark.
Stephen Stapczynski
Fri, June 23, 2023
(Bloomberg) -- The biggest fossil fuel players are making the message clear: the transition to a green future will require much more natural gas.
From Shell Plc to Chevron Corp., the world’s top producers plan to accelerate investments in the fuel. China keeps signing deals to buy liquefied natural gas past 2050, with European importers not far behind. The US is forging ahead with new projects that will make it the world’s top LNG exporter for the foreseeable future.
This momentum marks a turning point for gas. The “cleanest” fossil fuel was seen as a short-term bridge to greener energy sources, and environmentalists have sought to phase it out amid worries that gas is far dirtier than advertised. Now, the idea that gas demand will peak anytime soon is disappearing.
“LNG sellers look around this market and feel pretty confident that gas demand will be with us for decades to come,” said Ben Cahill, senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the subsequent energy crisis and record-breaking price surge, has changed the long-term prospects for natural gas. Europe is rushing to replace Russian fuel while emerging nations are signing long-term deals to avoid future shortages.
China signed a 27-year agreement with Qatar on Tuesday to safeguard its energy security, and a German importer on Thursday inked a landmark contract to buy LNG from the US through 2046 — even though Germany aims to be carbon neutral a year before that.
About 60 billion cubic meters of new gas production capacity has been approved since Russia invaded Ukraine, nearly double the rate compared with the past decade, according to the International Energy Agency.
Doubling down on gas also makes sense for shareholders, said Saul Kavonic, a Sydney-based energy analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG. The fuel has been profitable over the last few years while the pursuit of green energy targets has been more of a struggle, he said.
Gas has been the main earnings driver for energy companies including Shell and BP Plc over the past few years. Producers had plunged into the lower-margin renewable power business years before, but are now rethinking those investments due to lackluster returns.
“Liquefied natural gas will play an even bigger role in the energy system of the future than it plays today,” Shell’s Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan told investors this month as he outlined a strategy shift following his promotion to the role in January. “LNG can be easily transported to places where it is needed most. And what’s more, on average, natural gas emits about 50% less carbon emissions than coal when used to produce electricity.”
Shell plans to increase natural gas investments by about 25% this year to a record $5 billion and keep spending at that level through 2025. Last year, the London-based company joined Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips to invest in Qatar’s $30 billion LNG expansion, the biggest ever in the industry.
Gas is also key to Italian energy group Eni SpA’s growth plans — that was a big motivation behind Friday’s $4.9 billion deal to buy Neptune Energy Group Ltd. Elsewhere, Romania’s two biggest natural gas producers agreed this week to invest as much as €4 billion ($4.4 billion) in a Black Sea gas project after decades of debate. Chevron and Exxon are adding more staff to build up their gas trading activities in London and Singapore.
In the US, the development of new LNG plants is being underpinned as buyers in countries including Germany and Japan — both of which have ambitious green goals — sign long-term contracts with exporters. TotalEnergies SE gave a boost this month to plans to build a US export terminal, agreeing to buy stakes in the project and its developer. The French company is also in discussions with Saudi Arabia to invest in its massive natural gas project.
Still, there is a debate over how much gas and investment will be needed, with demand likely to hinge on how successful nations are in reducing emissions.
The IEA says gas demand needs to fall dramatically by the end of the decade in order to keep the world on track for net zero by 2050. The agency in 2021 calculated that all new developments of oil, gas and coal fields need to be stopped to meet that scenario.
Producers and financial institutions need to “commit to end financing and investment in exploration for new oil and gas fields, and expansion of oil and gas reserves,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters this month in New York. “We are hurtling towards disaster, eyes wide open.”
One of the biggest arguments against natural gas is methane emissions, a byproduct of gas production that traps more than 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide in its first two decades in the atmosphere. Gas leakage of more than about 3% makes the fuel worse for the climate than coal, according to a study published by the National Academy of Sciences, undermining industry claims that it is a cleaner fossil fuel.
In order to market natural gas as a clean alternative to coal, energy majors are working to cut methane releases. Shell, Exxon Mobil and more than a dozen other producers aim to achieve “near-zero” methane emissions by 2030 as part of an initiative launched last year.
“By finally taking the reduction of methane emissions seriously, the majors believe they can thread the needle of making a positive contribution to climate change and keeping their assets commercially relevant,” said Ira Joseph, a global fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.
--With assistance from David Stringer, Rachel Morison, William Mathis and Aaron Clark.
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