According to Amy Andryszak, CEO and president of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), her organization, as is the natural gas industry as a whole, is “committed to building a cleaner energy future.”
Part of that commitment, she said, is for industry to work together toward reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas transmissions and storage operations by 2050.
“We know that achieving this goal will require the aid of new, innovative technologies and a constructive energy policy framework,” Andryszak said, speaking at the annual State of the Energy Industry Forum, presented online by the United States Energy Association (USEA)
Andryszak said that it’s clear that President Biden’s administration “clearly signals” a changed world for the energy industry.
“However, the fact that natural gas and its infrastructure must be part of any serious plan to address global climate change is not new,” she said. “As the U.S. moves toward greater adoption of renewable forms of electricity, there’s an increased need for natural gas and related infrastructure to enable flexible, fast-ramping power generation and energy storage to ensure reliability.”
As part of his “Build Back Better” plan, President Biden has pledged investment in energy and climate research and innovation, Andryszak noted, adding that INGAA members also believe that investing in and adopting innovative technologies will be instrumental in achieving climate goals.
“We are committed to the further research and development of promising new technologies, such as renewable natural gas sources, renewable hydrogen and all things that can help reduce emissions even further,” she said.
Maria Korsnick, CEO and president of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), touted the economic benefits that nuclear power brings to local communities, calling it “an economic powerhouse.”
Korsnick shared her previous experience as a site vice president who ran a power plant in upstate New York.
“I know firsthand how the tax benefits as well as the local employment of that one plant really affected the local community,” Korsnick said. “It feeds the school system. It feeds the local police and fire departments. The people who work in the plant are also leaders in the community, contributing and participating.
She described employees of the nuclear power plant as being “highly skilled” members of the community. The end result, she said, is “a wonderfully synergistic effect. You get the clean energy and, if you will, the lifeblood of the community.”
Arshad Mansoor, CEO and president of the Electric Power Research Institute, cited how advances in transportation are shaping the future.
In 2010, to propel an electric vehicle 300 miles, the battery would have cost $70,000 and would have weighed 1,500 pounds.
“Today, just over 10 years later, that same battery costs $10,000 and weighs 750 pounds,” Mansoor said. “In this decade, we expect another 50-percent reduction in cost and 50 percent in improved energy capacity.”
Mansoor envisions a not-too-distant future in which six out of 10 cars are electric, and 30 percent of energy comes from renewables. In order to achieve that goal, he said, it is necessary for industry leaders to reimagine the grid.
“This is an innovation that has been happening for a long time, but we need to supercharge that,” Mansoor said, adding that the industry must be ready and resilient to meet this challenge.
“Also, we need to make sure that the grid continues to be clean,” he said. “Innovation in digital technology will get us there.”
Agreeing with Mansoor, Korsnick said she believes that most people in the industry share the common goal of clean and carbon-free energy.
“And it’s going to take all of us coming together to reach it,” she said.
“It’s going to take a solution as big as the challenge in front of us,” Korsnick concluded. “I trust that [energy industry leaders] will have a role in that solution in protecting people and the planet in the crucial years ahead.”
