All energy sources have an environmental effect; from the space they take up to emissions produced throughout their life-cycle. As an example, there is some methane released during natural gas development. But despite a record-setting over the last three decades, the amount of methane emitted into the atmosphere during natural gas extraction continues to drop. … Read more
From daily commutes to keeping homes warm in the winter, Americans rely on energy each day. Because of its importance in everyday life, it is crucial that energy resources remain readily available and affordable. The ability for the U.S. to access reliable energy is known as its energy security. When a country is in control … Read more
The price of energy – from the electricity needed to run a factory to the gas powering the delivery truck – impacts the final cost of every item you purchase. Some things require more energy than others. In the steel industry, energy can account for 20 to 40 percent of the cost to make materials … Read more
The United States used 97.8 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy in 2016. That’s 3.5 times more energy than Russia used the same year. Burning fuel to meet these energy demands affects the environment, but a shift in the last decade to lower-carbon natural gas has had a significant impact. Natural gas also emits … Read more
Abundance Driving Affordability Throughout the last decade, domestic development of natural gas increased by 36 percent, enabling the U.S. to become the world’s leading producer. But how did the nation increase its production so drastically in only 10 years? It is a revolution fueled entirely by two factors – innovation and shale. Breakthroughs in hydraulic … Read more
Why does natural gas emit less CO2? Natural gas is a clean burning energy source and the reason boils down to chemistry. When fossil fuels are burned, oxygen combines with carbon to form carbon dioxide (CO2), and with hydrogen to form water (H2O). These chemical reactions create the heat we use for energy. The amount … Read more
As energy consumers, Americans benefit most when all of the nation’s energy sources play a role in supplying the grid. Subsidies, like those recently pushed for nuclear plans in New Jersey, Ohio and Connecticut create a distorted market with an uneven playing field and do a disservice to energy consumers. While voters in key states … Read more
Changing natural gas to its liquid state makes storage and transportation of the resource much easier, as it shrinks in volume about 600 times. Liquified natural gas, commonly referred to as LNG results when natural gas has been cooled to a low temperature of -260 degrees F. Impurities are removed and the nontoxic liquid is … Read more
In the 1920s, natural gas was discovered in the United States’ Great Plains. Upon that discovery, the rate of pipeline construction increased sharply to accommodate a growing need for natural gas as a heating fuel in large Midwestern cities. Since then, the United States has developed a sprawling natural gas pipeline network, composed of over … Read more
One of the major benefits of natural gas is that it’s a type of clean energy, offering environmental benefits over other fossil fuels like coal that include reduced CO2 emissions. In fact, CO2 emissions from natural gas are half of those resulting from coal. The increased reliance on natural gas over the past few years … Read more