Natural Gas Is The Key To Our Low-Carbon Future

From Copenhagen to the U.S. Congress, policymakers are deeply engaged on climate change and looking for innovative solutions to advance a low-carbon future. While the headlines tend to shine light on the prospects for coal at one end of the spectrum and renewables at the other, not enough of the conversation has focused on the vast opportunity found right here in North America in clean, abundant natural gas.

With the rapid rise of the shale plays alongside other technological breakthroughs, the U.S. now has vast, homegrown supplies of natural gas that can meet our nation’s energy needs for generations to come. As a result, natural gas offers our nation a game-changing opportunity to play a global leadership role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions - all while advancing our energy security and creating American jobs.

To exercise this leadership, it is critical that we increase our use of clean fuel sources sooner rather than later. Natural gas can be immediately dispatched using existing infrastructure to produce meaningful carbon reductions today. By increasing our production and use of this energy source, we can significantly curb carbon emissions in the power and transportation sectors, which collectively are responsible for more than 60% of U.S. carbon emissions.

Several companies within the U.S. power sector are leading this transition, switching to natural gas as an alternative to higher emission fuel sources or as a partner with renewable energy sources. In December, Progress Energy, a North Carolina utility, announced plans to shut down 11 coal-fired units totaling nearly 1,500 megawatts by 2017. Progress recognized a need to shift to natural gas, which is 50% cleaner than coal, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Southern Company, the largest U.S. electricity producer, announced in September that it will boost its use of natural gas by 24%, given the commodity’s attractive price.

Power companies across America also are embracing a constructive and growing partnership between natural gas and renewables. General Electric is coupling fast-start gas turbines with renewable projects. In Topeka, KS, Westar is pairing four gas turbines with 300 megawatts' worth of wind capacity. And Florida Power & Light, the nation's largest renewable-energy developer, is in the process of building America's second-largest solar plant. The company is putting its new facility next to a natural gas plant to ensure continuous power supply when the sun isn't shining.

Similar to leading utilities, many public and private entities have been making the switch to natural gas vehicles as well. Because natural gas contains less carbon per unit of energy than any other fossil fuel, it produces 25% less CO-2 emissions per vehicle mile traveled than engines that run on gasoline or diesel.

Companies such as AT&T, Wal-Mart, SYSCO, Disney, UPS and Fed-Ex have begun converting their fleets to save money and decrease their carbon footprint.

Municipalities also are getting in on the action. One early leader is New York City. Its alternative-fuel vehicle and clean-fuel taxi programs have displaced 70 million gallons of petroleum, put nearly 1,000 light, medium and heavy-duty natural gas vehicles on city streets and installed 24 refueling stations. Similar efforts are under way in Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Phoenix, Dallas and other cities.