The Coordinated Attack
on Ohio’s Natural Gas NICOLE JACOBS | EnergyInDepth The Ohio State University’s plans for the construction of a sustainable, on-campus natural gas-fueled power plant is on the receiving end of fringe activist groups’ opposition, with the Sierra Club’s Ohio Chapter leading the charge. Peddling misinformation about the environmental, consumer, and economic benefits natural gas delivers, the coordinated efforts of local environmental organizations continue to demonstrate their commitment to stopping the successful reach of Ohio’s energy industry. For those who are unfamiliar with the latest debate, “Keep it in the Ground” activists – primarily the Sierra Club – claim the university did not thoroughly consider “cleaner” energy alternatives such as solar, wind, and geothermal technology when drafting plans for the power plant. They also assert that the facility, while a cornerstone to OSU’s sustainable energy plan, con-
flicts with the city of Columbus’ community-choice energy-aggregation plan to achieve 100 percent “green” power in less than two years. But even OSU’s Sustainability Institute program director said powering the campus with wind and solar alone is “not economically feasible.” Natural gas producers operating in Ohio take precautionary measures – in addition to adhering to strict state and federal regulatory oversight – to ensure the work they do is safe for the environment, residents, and workers. To say methane emissions from the natural gas industry “wipe out its advantage over coal” is not only misleading, it’s factually incorrect. Combined methane emissions from oil and natural gas systems declined 23 percent between 1990 and 2017, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2020 Greenhouse Gas Inventory. At the same time, nationwide natural gas and oil production grew by 72 percent and 49 percent, respectively. Further, there is substantial research that current methane leakage rates are well-below the threshold for natural gas to maintain its climate benefits over coal. A 2015 Carnegie Mellon University study found that over the entire lifecycle of liquefied natural gas – from production to consumption – as long as the methane leakage rate stays below roughly 9 percent when used for electricity and 5 percent for heating, LNG will maintain its climate benefits over traditional fuel sources. Similarly, a 2019 study published in Nature determined: “We found that the coal-to-gas shift is consistent with climate stabilization objectives for the next 50100 years. Our finding is robust under a range of leakage rates and uncertainties in emissions data and metrics. It becomes conditional to the leakage rate in some locations only if we employ a set of metrics that essentially focus on short-term effects. Our case for the coal-to-gas shift is stronger than previously found…” In fact, because of America’s transition to natural gas for power generation, the United States is credited as leading the world in energy-related carbon emissions reductions, according to the International Energy Coordinated continued on page 10
SEPTEMBER 2020
OhioGas&Oil
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