A report prepared by 14 prominent energy experts concludes that America’s appetite for natural gas will soon double. The New York Times reports that a panel assembled by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) predicts that natural gas will increase from 20 percent to 40 percent of the U.S. energy market in decades to come.
Some companies that make equipment for coal- and gas-fired generating stations say that the switch to gas from coal has already begun. One reason is that switching to gas will make it easier to meet air quality standards for conventional pollutants, like smog and mercury.
Technological advances and the growing mandate to limit greenhouse gases have made domestic natural gas an increasing popular choice as a transportation fuel as well:
High-mileage fleet vehicles, like taxis, could be economically converted to natural gas, the study said. But the recent history of natural gas vehicles in the United States suggests that buses and small delivery vehicles are more likely candidates for conversion than the great mass of privately owned vehicles.
Pickens Plan founder Boone Pickens, who was interviewed for the article, says that natural gas can meet both needs: power generation AND transportation:
T. Boone Pickens, the Texas oilman, said that the study paid too much attention to the electricity sector and not enough to using natural gas as a substitute for gasoline and diesel in transportation.
“You’ve got plenty of gas to do both,” he said.
Read the entire article HERE.