Released recently, the Business Council for Sustainable Energy 2014 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook joins other insightful analyses demonstrating that natural gas will continue to serve as a foundation fuel – working alongside energy efficiency and renewable energy – in the nation’s clean and secure energy portfolio. Our nation’s energy economy will be built on a healthy combination of natural gas, renewables and energy efficiency. The 2014 Factbook helps confirm that all of these clean energy options can coexist as our nation builds a more secure, sustainable, efficient and affordable energy future.
Below the Infographic are four points from the 2014 Factbook illuminating the role natural gas has played and will continue to play in shaping today’s energy landscape.
The 2014 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook Infographic illustrates how natural gas fits into a sustainable energy landscape.
Fact 1: Working alongside energy efficiency and renewable energy, natural gas has contributed to a nearly 11 percent decline in U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions since 2007.
The low emissions profile of natural gas means that greater use of this clean fuel driven by its relatively low price has contributed to a healthier environment.
Fact 2: Natural gas production and consumption both increased in 2013.
Our nation is producing more natural gas than ever before and we are using it wisely and more efficiently. Spurred by the relatively low price of natural gas due to abundant domestic supply, more Americans are turning to natural gas to meet their energy needs, yet doing so efficiently. A home today uses 45 percent less natural gas compared to a house in 1970, saving the customer almost $600 per year, according to EIA data and AGA analysis. Each year natural gas utilities devote nearly $1 billion to natural gas efficiency programs, and that number will continue to grow.
Fact 3: Natural gas use in the transportation sector has increased 38 percent since 2006.
Leaders in every sector of our economy are embracing natural gas for transportation – not because they are required to, but because it offers real savings, real stimulus and real solutions. The American Gas Foundation and IHS CERA recently released a study entitled “Fueling the Future with Natural Gas: Bringing it Home,” which found that a natural gas vehicle will save customers an average of $4,500 in fuel costs over five years compared to a gasoline vehicle while producing fewer tailpipe emissions.
Fact 4: Investments in midstream gas – transmission and distribution pipeline and storage – were $15.1 billion in 2013.
Enhancing and expanding the pipeline network that safely and reliably delivers natural gas is essential if we are to fully realize the benefits of this clean energy source for all Americans. Natural gas utilities are working hard with policymakers at every level to create mechanisms that advance both the modernization and expansion of their pipeline systems.
Natural gas will be the foundation for a secure energy future that has room for all clean energy solutions. Today, thanks to our nation’s abundant supply of clean natural gas, we do not need to choose between providing essential energy to people and protecting the planet. America’s natural gas utilities work alongside other clean and renewable energy sources to build a clean and affordable energy economy. All Americans stand to gain if we make investments and update our policies now to realize the full potential of natural gas.
The Sustainable Energy in America Factbook is an important addition to the growing body of knowledge supporting a fact-based conversation about our energy choices. For more natural gas facts check out:
I’m sorry but natural gas is not by any stretch of the imagination sustainable and to mention it in the same breath as “clean energy” is ludicrous. It is a slightly less damaging dirty fossil fuel that makes completely unsustanable demands on the environment, water supplies and the pollution of the atmosphere. At best it is a short term interim fuel not “the foundation for a secure energy future”, a completely ludicrous statement!