Is Natural Gas the Natural Solution?

Is Natural Gas The Solution to Supplement Base-Load Needs

It is no secret that we face a long-term power supply problem in this country.  Ubiquitous and affordable power has been – and always will be – the backbone of our vast economic engine.  A failure to solve the long-term power issues will result in an economic disadvantage in a global economy. 

In simple terms, the country really has limited choices about the supply issues:  build more base load, have rolling brownouts and/or blackouts or attempt to supplement base-load needs with renewable power sources. Because it is intermittent, renewable energy such as wind and solar, is not capable of serving as base load, unless of course there are unexpected and significant advancements in large-scale storage technology.  So, barring those advancements, we really have two choices:  build more base load generation or tolerate rolling brownouts or blackouts.

If history is any indication, we will get serious as a nation once we have experienced some brownouts or blackouts.  There is an old saying that change only occurs when the pain of doing the same thing exceeds the pain of doing something differently.  Today, the pain associated with ignoring our power supply problems is easy to ignore.   As our demand for power approaches generation and transmission limits, most experts believe that equation will flip.  Afterall, who wants to go without air conditioning on a hot summer day?  

So, how do we solve it?  Many believe that Nuclear remains a good long-term solution.  It is, of course, very expensive and takes a long time to build.  Additionally, it likely faces even more intense scrutiny after the unfortunate events in Japan.  Coal is plentiful and cheap, but continues to remain out of favor for many due to carbon concerns – real or imagined.  That really leaves us with Natural Gas.

Natural Gas is plentiful, relatively cheap to extract, easy to transport and burns much more cleanly than coal.  It is also fairly fast to build a gas-fired generating plant.  Of course, there are environmental concerns associated with extracting it and these certainly should not be ignored.  But, the environmental concerns associated with Natural Gas are much more manageable when compared to other potential power sources.

I recognize that there are some who feel we can conserve our way out of the long-term power supply issues.  We can’t, although we certainly should do as much as possible.  Demand response and conservation efforts will play a role - perhaps even a significant role  -- but it simply won't be enough.  Consider, for example, how much less electricity is being used at your house compared to last year and, if you have had drastic reductions, how much more can you reduce and how long can you maintain those reductions? 

Ideally, we would have terrific storage technology so that renewable resources could power the country.  The simple fact is that we don't, so natural gas is the next best option.