Interview: T. J. Szelistowski

Vital solution

Natural gas will continue to play a key role in meeting energy needs and reducing carbon emissions

How will the Biden presidency and its policies impact your natural gas business? Environmental policy and a commitment to the environment will certainly be big with the new administration and we see ourselves as a huge part of that commitment. In Florida, per capita CO2 emissions have gone down 26% since 2005 – while the state has experienced significant population growth – and the reason for that reduction is natural gas. Not only has there been a reduction of coal generation in Florida because of natural gas, but we are also seeing the environmental benefits of using natural gas for vehicle fuel. Natural gas is a cleaner fuel source and electric utilities across the state are converting to natural gas. Until there is much more widespread renewable energy and the viability of cost-effective batteries, natural gas will be an integral part of the energy solution in Florida.

Direct use of natural gas also is a very efficient way to satisfy energy needs, resulting in a lower carbon footprint as well as cost savings for the end user. The three main reasons people use natural gas are cost, reliability and environmental responsibility. In terms of making natural gas even cleaner, there is opportunity on the horizon including the development of renewable natural gas. We’re working with a number of farms and solid waste and water treatment facilities which produce methane that can be captured, cleaned and injected back into the pipeline.

What is your outlook for the utility and for Tampa Bay? I think we’ll see some shifts due to people working from home, so we see the potential for people to use more natural gas in their homes and use more electricity generated by natural gas. As an essential service, we are critical to commercial and residential customers. A combination of that and the growth in Florida as well as some of the challenges across the rest of the country really positions us well.

One of the things that is getting more attention across the industry is liquified natural gas (LNG), which is commonly used in long-haul transportation and shipping. The use of natural gas for transportation is interesting because while we have been a big part of large-vehicle alternative fuel, the demand for natural gas with passenger vehicles has been minimal. But when you consider that 70% of electricity is generated from natural gas, even electric passenger vehicles are in reality fueled by natural gas. In terms of shipping, new IMO (International Maritime Organization) regulations were rolled out last year and this mandated that in the short term, vessels needed to either install scrubbers or use ultra-low sulfur oil. For the future, the best option will be for those vessels to continue a transition to LNG.

T. J. Szelistowski

President – Peoples Gas

Transportation

& Logistics:

Tampa’s car-centric culture and funding issues related to providing a diversified, multimodal mass transit landscape could make for a bumpy ride as the region comes out of the pandemic. In contrast, the region’s solid logistic and distribution environment has proven to be pandemic-resilient and all signs point toward sustained growth.