Gas power plants have been a mainstay of the electricity supply chain as they provide consistent energy for households and businesses. However, there is still about 20% of global CO2 emissions that emanate from gas. It is thus important to scrutinize their role in our energy mix as we address the pressing issues of climate change.
Too Many Gas Power Plants Are the Problem
There are more than enough gas power plants in America’s electricity market. The emissions intensified severe weather occurrences leading to more pressure on the grid. For instance, America needs more electricity to move away from relying on fossil fuels, but adding more gas plants does not help.
Countless Gas Power Plants
- Gas was responsible for approximately 40% of the U.S.A.’s electric output in 2022.
- Over 2,000 gas-fired units with a rated capacity of around 500 GW were operational, accounting for 43% of utility-scale electricity capacity.
- These plants emitted 661 million metric tons of CO2, over 13% of U.S. energy-related emissions
- Hydraulic fracturing or fracking has eased natural gas production from shale formations and has fueled gas plant growth.
- Financially supportive policies towards the industry can also be blamed
- Utility-scale renewables are presently cheaper than natural gas
- Almost 21.08 GW of new gas capacity is expected in the Midwest and Texas between 2023-2026
Uneven Transition in Different Regions
The wave of transitioning away from gasoline differs with each region in the US, regardless of market forces and scientific consensus toward renewable energy. The reliance on gas by states is determined by policies, prevailing infrastructure, geography, weather patterns, and population statistics.
- Gas consumption is higher in shale-rich and heavily populated states like Texas and Appalachian regions
- California is still a big user of natural gas even though it has been seen as a clean energy leader because of its 40 million inhabitants and increasingly hotter summers that stress the grid
- During extreme weather events such as hurricanes, wildfires, or winter storms, power plants fueled by gas in California, the mid-Atlantic area or Texas fail
- States urged to plan alternatives for grid resilience
Problems Caused by Gas Power Plants
Fossil fuels like oil, coal, and natural gas are powering vast amounts of our electricity supply grid but are not sustainable. Their finite availability along with negative health effects and environmental degradation make them unsuitable for long-term energy security.
As reserves deplete, so will costs rise further leading to greater tensions over resources’ control due to geopolitical reasons which will worsen the energy situation. Let’s look at some of the impacts
1. Water Contamination
Warm water discharged from power plants interrupts the life cycle patterns of aquatic organisms. This leads to thermal pollution creating ice-free zones in winter which then traps many species inside it thereby worsening oxygen depletion during summer months.
2. Dying Marine Species
Cooling water intakes destroy the fish population, killing up to 60% of young fish. Adult fishes get stuck on the intake screens while millions of eggs, larvae, and young fish die.
3. Air Pollution
Major causes of acid rain, smog, and global warming. These power plants release mercury (a neurotoxin), carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas), sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere.
4. Making Scenic, Historic and Cultural Resources Less Valuable
Power plants are much bigger than their surroundings and destroy the viewsheds we cherish by making homes around them as well as historical sites worthless in terms of property value. Even cooling tower plumes can be visually disturbing though they are nothing else but water vapor.
5. Conflict with Other Nations
The externalities of fuel price do not include the costs of environment, health and infrastructure which makes new plants generate power in an artificially cheap manner. This only causes conflicts with oil-rich overseas countries. Only through conservation, efficiency and renewable energy can we break this.
6. Threat to the Communities
The laws on siting overlook community concerns and usually target minority or poor areas; they do not demand any demonstration of need nor environmental impact statements, overriding local planning.
7. Effects on Land
Gas lines extend over wide areas, infringing on Indigenous people’s rights, while also damaging or disrupting cultural places and injuring farming, wildlife and recreation. Pipeline building lowers soil quality which affects crop production and livelihoods.
8. Effects on Climate
The power sector contributes 25% of the U.S.’ greenhouse gas emissions with about 45% emanating from the power industry CO2 accounted for by gas plants. During pipeline and well leaks, methane emission takes place.
These gases are responsible for climate change causing extreme weather events that have greatly affected frontline communities.
9. High Energy Bills
Heavy reliance on gas leads to electricity price fluctuations with grids heavily reliant on gas being overpriced in terms of grid reliability hence resulting in customer overpayment. For example, wholesale prices rose to 7,400% due to the failure of the natural gas plants during Winter Storm Uri in 2021.
This fluctuation disproportionately harms low-income and minority households who spend three to five times more than that spent by others on their incomes on energy.
Racial and Economic Disparities of Gas Infrastructure
Communities of color and poor neighborhoods host an abundance of power plants, pipelines, and compressor stations. This environmental injustice is a result of racism in the past and present. Some of the instances of communal disparities are observed in the following situations:
- In New England, the proportion of nonwhite folks near coal power plants is way higher (up to 23.5 %) than that of white people in those areas
- In California, almost 50% of gas-fired power plants are located in the state’s 25% most disadvantaged communities
- Dominion Energy has targeted a location for its proposal where 44% are residents of color and 25% are poor individuals
- The decision to extend the life of California’s Ormond Beach Generating Station in Oxnard, a majority Latinx, low-income community.
While removing obstacles to increase the expansion of renewable energy, grid planners should retire gas plants and related infrastructure in poor communities as a top priority. Combining these two strategies will lead to an increased reliability of the grid and equal distribution of power.
Gas Power Plants’ Impacts on Vulnerable Populations
Apart from the communities of color and low income, other segments of society are also affected by the adverse effects of gas-based power generation. Here are some of the instances of other vulnerable populations
- In old people the immune systems weaken with age, they become prone to dehydration and might have limited movements in case of heat waves.
- Respiratory diseases worsened by air pollutants from gas production result in increased cases of childhood asthma.
- Communities that do not speak English fluently need help in advocating for stricter pollution standards or plant closures.
- Extreme weather events and land degradation due to gas infrastructure put farmers’ lives at risk.
- The proximity between fracking wells and drinking water sources are associated with higher preterm birth rates and more infants with low birth weight.
All these additional pressures on weak sections added to the effects on poor societies and societies of color led to extreme disparities among different groups within America. However, despite this knowledge regarding the injustice that results from it, natural gas remains a significant part of the country’s power grid.
Power-to-Gas: Expensive Solution
In the future, power-to-gas (PtG) could be the only option for certain sectors, depending on technology and policy. It is indeed a promising method for decarbonizing the energy system but has major drawbacks.
- Only 67-81% of energy remains after electrolysis while after methanation, only 54-65% is left
- Production is laborious besides being expensive compared to direct electricity use
- Currently, PtG does not make economic sense without governmental assistance and regulation.
Despite these challenges, PtG may be essential for the following:
- Storing large amounts of energy for several months to even out shifts in the production of green electricity.
- Decarbonize industrial processes that need high temperatures.
- Buildings that are not ideal for electric heat pumps instead can use PtG to replace natural gas.
However, scaling up is difficult due to the following reasons:
- There are only about 30 such research and pilot projects now underway in Germany which are far from being profit-making enterprises
- As much as possible, facilities must run at full load because they have extremely high fixed costs
- The scarcity of excess renewable electricity in Germany affects its profitability
To make PtG competitive, Germany may need the following:
- Government support through synthetic gas quotas or a higher price for CO2
- Importing synthetic gas from sun-rich countries where production might be cheaper
The German Energy Agency (dena)’s recent study predicts that Germany could import as much as 750 terawatt hours of bio-synthetic gas and fuels by 2050. Yet with the rise in interest rates and risks associated with overseas transactions, it is possible that making syn-gas at home from North Sea offshore wind could give it a competitive edge.
Cross-Reference: Power-to-gas
Moving Away from Natural Gas
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has presented evidence that tells us there is no need for new gas plants to ensure a reliable grid but the progress from natural gas has been slow. The result of this delay implies that pollution and grid reliability problems are intensified.
EPA’s updated pollution standards for power plants include
- Caps on Carbon and Smog-forming Pollution
- Strong standards can bring out the economic case for clean energy options
The transition from natural gas makes more sense as
- About 80-90% of the US grid could obtain renewable power reliably requiring little or no new gas plants for reliability.
- The gas-for-reliability concept is being discredited as more and more instances of the failure of these infrastructures are seen during extreme climate conditions.
Ensuring a Just Transition
Transitioning from gas is not easy because of infrastructural and industry resistance to change. A fair transition requires the following:
- Gas companies to be held accountable for their actions in relation to fossil fuel menace
- Support for the communities of color and low income that have borne disproportionate burdens of pollution
- People who depend on the gas industry for their livelihoods should be protected
Though cleaner than other fossil fuels, natural gas still emits pollutants damaging various sectors over-reliance on gas-fired power plants is an issue. Instead, such initiatives as improving energy efficiency and investing in renewable energy sources as well as developing energy storage technologies will help create a more sustainable and equitable future.
