The US's new discovery of shale gas extraction allows for natural gas at the cheapest rates in the world. Only second to the middle east.

The guestimation is that the natural gas in shale (on American soil) can supply US's need for a few hundred years.

The use of natural gas in power plants means another step to lower dependency on foreign crude. Now we just have to work on the damn oil guzzling trucks. Why don't they understand that my electric guzzling Volt (in Sport mode) is the perfect answer--still only use $0.03/mile to zip around or $0.02/mile to be effecient! (Well, not really, I know people need the trucks to tow and haul at times, but sometimes when you seem people idling alone in traffic to work, it just make you grin on how much they spend on fuel each week--something that I don't have to.)

-KyleH

 

Nat Gas in the trucks is the solution there.

Glad to see the nukes and renewables bumping up too and the coal sliding.

 

What I also found amazing is Nukes and renewables add up to a larger percentage than eithe coal or natural gas for the first time

 

Yep Nuke+renewables now > coal!
Here are two charts.. one on % of energy by source

the other on g/CO2 per source

The grid is getting green faster than expected
Those people still using 2009 or 2010 data, which is the US GREET models in most studies use, are now pretty far off.


Ziv: love the "comeback"..

 

I still wish the NG decline helped lower propane costs, but alas, it isn't tied to NG prices. We have a propane-based home heating system. These days, for power costs, I wish I was in my mother's house in Lewiston, NY where NG is piped in and electricity is .10/kWh and not .17/kWh as it is in SE PA. They complain about taxes in Western NY - but the energy prices easily help make up for it.

 

I think it depends on where you are. I thought Propane was generally a byproduct of petroleum refining, but I gather a lot of it out west is related to natural gas. The nice thing about building up a natural gas infrastructure is it'll be relatively easy to transition to something renewable - Methane can come from a bunch of places, including biomass for example.

 

As I posted last year, don't get too excited about 'a hundred years' worth of fracked NG:
http://www.treehugger.com/fossil-fu...orps-have-an-enron-moment-congressmen-push-natural-gas-for-energy-security.html
[My original post linked to a NYT article which is now unavailable, but this link will suffice]. Fracking stinks in so many ways and the absurd promises made by those who stand to profit should not be taken at face value.

And regarding propane, I am making my complete separation from this fossil fuel effective this summer:
Cold weather heat pumps (phase 1- 1st flr living and bedroom) just installed last week:
http://www.mitsubishicomfort.com/en/consumer/lifestyle-benefits
Cold weather heat pumps (phase 2- ducted upstairs bedroom- rarely used) to be installed next week:
http://trane.com/Residential/Products/Heat-Pumps/XB13-Heat-Pumps
Worst case scenario cold weather fire place insert will be final step
http://www.harmanstoves.com/en/Products/300i-Wood-Insert.aspx
Last month, I dumped propane water heater in favor of heat pump water heater
http://www.geappliances.com/heat-pump-hot-water-heater/ (still on special!!)
Most clothes drying done by outdoor air drying- cheapest electric dryer for when sun unavailable
Induction range/Convection oven is most efficient at getting heat to food and installed last year
http://www.geappliances.com/products/introductions/free_standing_induction_ranges/

I figure that by September, I will be calling Propane Distributor to come and pick up tank

 

And regarding propane, I am making my complete separation from this fossil fuel effective this summer:

Do you have a good alternative for grilling? I suppose if you're committed and patient enough, there's the traditional charcoal, which is from renewable wood...

Solar hot water and a heat pump for the bedroom are on my list for this year. I'm not 100% off fossil fuels, and won't be, but I'm removing the big pieces progressively (and reducing repetitive bills at the same time, so I'll eventually be saving money, though right now I'm spending it instead...)

 

Lately we've seen the smaller natural gas frackers start to go under and their leases all get gobbled up by the big oil companies. The big oil companies aren't bothering to drill in many cases given the current cost of natural gas. Basically, they can afford to sit on the drilling rights for years until they are really profitable - same basic plan with U.S. oil reserves. Big oil isn't going anywhere...they'll just evolve.

 

Big oil is just part of Americana with capitalism. They price things to see if it makes money....if it makes money do it, if not, store it, stash it, burn it, sell it, etc. Some Oil companies that own refineries also manages or own nukes, so it is just opportunity. Heck, back in the days, Enron owned a profitting paper and pulp company, weather insurance company, and a water company while they had oil pipelines and manage nuclear power plants.

It actually makes no sense for them to drill or fract every possible location right now. LNG is the cheapest it has been in history because everyone else is fracturing...the market really cannot be priced any cheaper because many companies will loose money in labor costs. Rather, I think companies are looking at richer fields that have additional pockets of oil to gain with fracturing LNG. Oil is still $100/barell, and the LNG is just gravy.

We still use oil for jet fuel, plastics, gasoline, etc. But, America is in a good situation in "producing"...with cheaper energy costs from LNG at the power plants, big manufacturing companies can produce more items cheaper.

Conditions are just getting more ripe for an electric car infrastructure.

(Say what you guys want about Big Oil. I still prefer them over OPEC.)

-KyleH

 

This is great news on many levels.

 

Exceptional work Walter. I can't possibly get off all fossil fuels right now. Any more than I can buy everything MADE IN USA, which is my biggest billywack. I simply do the best I can to say thank you for those who paid my salary for so many years. Giving a job to a fellow American includes buying American fuel. That's a huge cost in most households. More than all their electronic purchases.

 

Gas is just cheaper than coal. As plants age the utilities are deciding that they'll make more money using new gas plants than updating the old coal plants. That's good on many levels but I don't think coal is the issue. I think it's petroleum. I'd happily replace gasoline or diesel with coal but that's not really an option.

 

Interesting. Anyone know why natural gas peaks are periodic annually, but the coal peaks are periodic semi-annually?

 

This is just a guess, but summer loads may be high due to air conditioning, which might drive gas-turbine peakers more in the summer than in the winter. Conversely, there might be quite a few coal-fired cogen plants that generate steam for heat and process use, and those could need to gear up more in the winter (and in the summer for higher electricity demand).

 

I don't think we have seen a reduction in the amount of coal being burnt as much as we are seeing an increase in the amount of natural gas being burnt...

Nope, we're talking about U.S. electricity, so this is the relevant graph: http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=6990
Coal use fell off a precipice this past winter - use didn't go up at all like it usually does, so when the drop from winter to spring happened, suddenly, record-low usage. Though natural gas use does look like it went up a little year-over-year, it didn't even make up for the coal decrease - it's mostly a drop in coal.

But you're right to say that much of total (worldwide, and not just electric) energy use will be determined by China's growth and how they choose to manage their energy use.

 

For responders to my post on abandoning propane, I am glad you responded as you did, as others need to know about various options for energy efficiency and dumping fossil fuels.

My circumstances are different in that the home with the propane is a second home. It is never occupied in the dead of winter. From January to May, there is no propane consumption and therefore, diminishing returns on incremental improvements beyond what I have done. Also, I did mention that the upstairs is rarely occupied, hence spending lots to condition it makes little sense. Seasonal occupation is a nice green alternative if you are able. In SW Florida, I didn't turn on the heat at all last winter. And, adjacent to a bay off Lake Ontario, I need to use the air conditioning very little. [Unfortunately, my idiot neighbors (in FL AND NY) don't quite get it. I hear their climate control systems running at seemingly useless times- like when the air temperature is so moderate that you can't figure out whether that compressor is heating or cooling the inside of their premises]. Use of ceiling fans AT ALL TIMES OF YEAR is paramount (if you have room- much of my NY home is ancient, providing a decapitation option if I tried to install fans on the low ceilings). People generally understand that you feel cooler with air moving- so they forget that in winter, WARMED AIR RISES!!! If you ignore your ceiling fans in winter, you assure that the coldest air in the room is where the people are!

And regarding alternative drying options, as stated, the sun does almost all my drying for free. I have referenced this before, but this is a good place to point out the creative drying racks available to not have to bother with clothes lines
http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/...arams.item.V30796.desc.Green-Rack-Foldable-Heavy-Duty-Drying-StorageRack-System

 

Me, I'd like to see the headline "Thorium fission passes all fossil fuels as the largest source of electricity in the US", preferably within 20 years. Won't hold my breath though

(Probably see it in India and China first)