Today, because of technological advancements including the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, America has access to previously unreachable stores of natural gas.
The result? The United States has become the world’s leader in natural gas production and a net exporter of natural gas, which has not only helped the U.S. economy, but also our allies who want secure, reliable sources of energy.
The benefits of natural gas?
American natural gas is a solution that has forever altered the world’s energy equation by:
- Generating the power we need for our homes and businesses;
- Providing the building blocks for our manufacturing renaissance;
- Making our nation and our allies more secure;
- Propelling the next generation of clean transportation on our roads, oceans and waterways.
Power providers, manufacturing companies, surface and marine fleet operators and millions of small businesses and home-owners have turned to natural gas to ensure they can get the energy they need, at a price they can afford.
Here’s the three big benefits of natural gas.
Natural Gas is cleaner
Natural gas emits half the CO2 emissions of coal when used to generate electricity. And since 2005, the use of natural gas by power plants that generate electricity has increased dramatically. In fact, America has been the world leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions because of our switch to natural gas for electric generations. In 2020, natural gas accounted for a record-high 40% of U.S. electricity generation and drove U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from power generation to their lowest levels in over 30 years. This progress was driven in large part by natural gas from the Marcellus shale.
Natural Gas is reliable
The U.S. depends on available electricity, at the flip of a switch, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For that to happen, electricity supply and demand must always be in balance – at any given moment, there must be as much power supplied to our nation’s energy grid as the power being used at any given moment.
That’s why all power systems require power generation that can be dispatched 24/7 and that is flexible enough to follow changes in the supply and demand. Natural gas generation can reliably and efficiently meet both needs — providing dispatchable power at an affordable cost to meet steady predictable demand and providing the flexible and fast-ramping power that is needed to support the grid and keep the lights on when consumers demand electricity and when intermittent resources like wind and solar are not available.
Natural Gas is affordable
More natural gas means affordable natural gas. And America has a lot of natural gas which means long-term stable and affordable prices. To put the amount of natural gas the U.S. has in perspective think about this: In 2020, across every home, business and power plant that used natural gas the United States consumed about 27 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
According to the latest IHS study, there is 800 trillion cubic feet available that can be developed for $3 or less. Even more remarkable? There is twice as much gas or 1,400 trillion cubic feet recoverable for just a dollar more.
These economic and climate benefits can continue to grow with smart governmental policies that allow increased natural gas production and the construction of vital energy infrastructure for delivery.