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Natural gas can bridge the way to renewable energy

Is natural gas a real low-carbon option?

October 5, 2009

by Ed Crooks

Using natural gas instead of coal for power generation is a clear improvement in terms of carbon dioxide emissions: the carbon dioxide output from a gas-fired power station per kilowatt hour is about half that from a coal-fired plant, as is discussed in the FT’s special report on gas, published today.

It is an argument that is being made increasingly vocally by gas producers such as BP, and has found favour with senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer, who have included measures to help the natural gas industry in their energy bill now before the US Senate.

However, there is a debate brewing about whether gas can really be anything other than a stop-gap, a transition “bridge fuel” on the route to a low-carbon future.

The problem with using natural gas is not cost; certainly not at the moment, when prices have plunged.

October 7, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, 2 WORLD, climate change, ENERGY | renewables