Editor’s note: This commentary is by Tom Kiley, president of Northeast Gas Association, based in Needham, Massachusetts.
A recent opinion piece by Sandra Levine of the Conservation Law Foundation presents a cloudy picture of New England’s energy future and the role of North American natural gas.
Ms. Levine correctly acknowledges that the positive economic and environmental role of natural gas is not likely to go away in the short term. Indeed, in our view, natural gas is a good, reliable bridge to a cleaner and more affordable energy future for Vermont and all of New England.
Thanks to natural gas, which heats about 37 percent of homes in New England (only residents in Chittenden and Franklin counties currently have access to cleaner, lower cost natural gas in Vermont, however) and 50 percent of power plants, the region’s air emissions are substantially improved in just the last decade.
Vermont’s natural gas system, operated by Vermont Gas in South Burlington, is the most efficient and environmentally secure of all the New England states, with virtually no cast-iron or bare steel.
For power plants, sulfur dioxide emissions regionally are down over 90 percent, nitrous oxide by nearly 70 percent, and carbon dioxide by 21 percent. The region’s natural gas utilities are working to reduce methane emissions as well from infrastructure; methane emissions from natural gas systems are down 17 percent in the U.S. over the last two decades – and we’re making more progress every day.
Vermont’s natural gas system, operated by Vermont Gas in South Burlington, is the most efficient and environmentally secure of all the New England states, with virtually no cast-iron or bare steel. (Cast-iron and bare steel systems are generally older and more prone to leaks.) In neighboring Massachusetts, the comparable percentage is about 25 percent, but efforts are actively underway to reduce that.
The Massachusetts Legislature unanimously approved a bill in June to accelerate utility replacement of older pipe systems in the state. The bill also calls for the expansion of natural gas service in the Commonwealth. Why? Because policy makers know natural gas is cleaner and less expensive than alternatives and homeowners and businesses not on a gas line are seeking the “natural gas option.”
New England does need a clean, diverse, reliable and affordable energy portfolio. Natural gas is today – and will be for decades ahead – a strong part of that mix. The New England governors recognized that when they called for expanded gas transmission systems in the region – as well as more electric transmission to “clean energy” and more energy efficiency. All are needed, and all will play a part.
