Natural gas produced in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia has some of the lowest associated air emissions and water usage, according to a new peer-reviewed study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). The study is in-line with past peer-reviewed analyses confirming the high environmental marks for Appalachia natural gas production and the key role the local fuel plays in reducing overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
Findings from the NETL report include:
- Low emissions footprint: Appalachian natural gas has the smallest greenhouse gas emissions intensity of any onshore producing region in the U.S.
- NETL’s data is aligned with previous peer-reviewed, independent academic analyses confirming the industry’s efforts to minimize emissions associated with natural gas production and transportation.
- Efficient water use: Natural gas production in Appalachia has among the lowest rates of water usage in the nation. Of the water which is used, more than 90 percent is recycled and reused in future operations, according to annual state reporting.
- Driving national improvements: As more Appalachian gas enters the energy mix, the overall emissions intensity of U.S. natural gas production continues to improve.
- “The emissions intensity of the 2020 U.S. average profile has decreased by 32 percent, largely on account of the greater production share of gas from the (low emission) Appalachian basin,” the report states.
NETL’s analysis precedes annual emissions tracking released this week crediting natural gas with the continued downward U.S. greenhouse gas emissions march. Since 2005, according to the Rhodium Group analysis, the U.S. has slashed greenhouse gas emissions economy wide by 20 percent, even as the economy continued to expand.
This decoupling of emissions with economic growth is principally due to natural gas fuel switching, as the clean-burning domestic fuel has become the workhorse for U.S. power generation and is seen as a “cause for optimism” by the report’s author.
As Americans continue to realize, when more natural gas is used in power generation and other industrial uses, overall greenhouse gas emissions can be expected to decline further.
