In Bruce Finley’s Nov. 19 article appearing in the Denver Post (Protestors Want Colorado to “Stop Clowning Around” on Clean Air), he writes about environmental advocates in Colorado calling for an immediate shift to cleaner forms of energy production. I agree and believe natural gas is a great answer.
Clean natural gas power generation holds great promise for protecting our environment, spurring Colorado’s economy and enhancing our nation’s energy security. Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel available to generate electric power – twice as clean as coal. Solar and wind power generation are gaining acceptance as technologies improve; however, they require a dependable back-up to make them viable. When used in tandem with natural gas, the result is clean, reliable power.
Electricity on the nation’s power grid is not stored; it is produced and consumed instantaneously. Renewable sources currently lack that storage capacity and need back-up power when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow. Natural gas is available right now to quickly step in to meet electric needs.
I spoke to The Denver Forum in early November about this very subject and stressed the point that reliability is critical, as is the commitment to move toward cleaner energy resources. I’ve also discussed this issue with Governor Bill Ritter, and he has been supportive of natural gas as a foundational fuel to Colorado’s clean energy economy.
Today’s natural gas electric generation is both flexible and highly efficient. Flexibility is important because natural gas-fueled plants can be started quickly and be adjusted to meet the needs of the moment – just the kind of support that renewable sources need. Efficiency is a fundamental part of the favorable environmental profile of natural gas; modern gas plants produce increasingly more power for increasingly less fuel.
The key is to provide balance and reliability for the electric system that allows us to expand the use of renewable energy resources, which will continue to grow and become a more important piece of our energy future as technology continues to evolve. A great deal of work has been done to analyze the costs of integrating solar and wind resources into electric grids, and to date, the best solution is to provide reliable energy at the lowest cost with flexible power generation – such as the use of on-demand natural gas generators to provide system reliability and dependability.
Fortunately, America produces virtually all of the natural gas we need from within our own borders. The industry has identified a 100-year supply of domestic natural gas that continues to grow with new technology. In June, The Potential Gas Committee at the Colorado School of Mines reported the highest level of identified natural gas resources in 44 years – that’s great news on the climate front.
According to EIA, coal fuels about 50 percent of the nation’s electric supply and produces 80 percent of carbon dioxide output from electric power generation. Natural gas supplies about 22 percent of the electric supply, but only about 15 percent of carbon dioxide. Therefore, just increasing the use of natural gas would result in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Colorado is blessed with both natural beauty and natural resources, including sun, wind and natural gas. Natural gas is also an important part of the state’s economy. According to an in-depth analysis completed by IHS Global Insight, the natural gas industry is responsible for more than 137,000 jobs in Colorado, that’s roughly 6 percent of the state’s total employment. Colorado ranks sixth in the nation in natural gas employment and benefits from $8.4 billion in total labor income.
Looking ahead, natural gas has an important role to play in our nation’s energy future and the Colorado jobs that will be supported and created in that sector. Natural gas and growing use of renewables can be a major contributor to reducing greenhouse gases and cleaning our state’s air. That’s something we can all get behind.
Jim Hackett is chairman and CEO of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
