Paul Balcombe on the future of Natural Gas in the U.K
/What is the future of natural gas in the U.K? Does it have a big, important role or is it a bridge fuel with a clear use-by date? Climate change demands that we have answers to some of these questions but do our politicians do?
On this podcast we have Paul Balcombe from the Sustainable Gas Institute. You can check out his white paper on the carbon emissions within the natural gas supply chain.
Brief transcript below
C. Does natural gas have a sustainable role in our energy future?
P. Yes, it has a role in decarbonising the world. Two main roles for natural gas. Replacing coal as a slightly low carbon fossil fuel. Secondly providing a variable complement to intermittent renewable energy, when the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine.
C. What is the contribution of natural gas to GHG emissions? Do you consider shale gas, oil with natural gas?
P. We produced a work paper on methane and co2 emissions from natural gas supply chain. Getting it out of the ground, processing it, delivering it etc entail emissions. Methane is a major component of these emissions and almost 120 times more potent than co2. But it stays in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of time.
We see a very big range of carbon emissions in the natural gas supply chains. Many estimates suggest a lower end of emissions which is good but some of the estimates are quite high which is a matter of concern. Super emitting facilities that emit a lot of methane need to be addressed.
C. The journal Nature published an article stating that to meet the 2 degree climate target, 50% of known gas reserves must be left in the ground. Can we still consider natural gas as a sustainable energy solution for the future? and does your work consider these climate limits?
P. Depends what you mean by sustainable contribution. Certainly it plays a role in replacing coal and in complementing intermittent renewables in the short and medium term. At some point, we have to stabilise our emissions i.e. net zero emissions. This cannot happen without carbon capture and storage in the natural gas sector. That is the subject of our next study i.e. the role of CCS in unlocking the un-burnable carbon.
With our current set of portfolio of energy technologies, we need gas to produce the function it offers.
C. On the question of stranded assets, is the natural gas industry serious about climate limitations?
P. There is a real risk to companies and everybody is well aware of it. It is in fact a good motivation to look at how carbon emissions can be reduced along the supply chain of natural gas.
C. Is the fact that we have the existing infrastructure on fossil fuels can be easily retrofitted for gas that it continues to get political support?
P. Ya, absolutely. Gas production is pushed because it is seen as a economically viable alternative. We've got the existing transmission, storage, distribution infrastructure already and it is some of the best in the world. We've got the knowledge and services to do that and slightly more debatable, we've got reasonable domestic reserves of gas.
C. How would you respond to someone from Balcombe protesting against natural gas/fracking? (to the question of gas's future in the UK)
P. I don't necessarily think anyone thinks gas is a long term solution. It is part of a transition to a low carbon world. Unconventional gas production might happen in the UK, might not happen either. I am only researching the climate related impacts and its my opinion from the evidence we've collected that conventional and unconventional gas production is comparable in terms of its climate impact but we've got to consider economic, social and environmental impacts.
1 KW of electricity coming from renewables is different from 1 KW of power coming from gas and it needs to be valued differently. It provides a different function. Need to value renewables in terms of its climate benefit and gas for its specific functions.
C. Can we sustain our current consumption with renewables and would that make an argument for gas?
P. If we only had intermittent renewables, then we wouldn't be able to meet the demand profile. Obviously the big challenge for the future is energy storage and if we crack that, then we can rely on renewables much better.
