Dioxide

Efforts to replicate in Europe the United States’ shale gas success took another blow Friday when French President Francois Hollande said that a ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) would remain in place during his five-year term. Hollande, the candidate of the Socialist party, became president following a two-round election earlier this year.

An appeals court in Washington, DC, Tuesday vacated an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule aimed at reducing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from coal- and natural gas-fired power plants in 28 upwind states located primarily in the East and Texas.

U.S. carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy use (natural gas, coal and oil) during the first quarter were the lowest in two decades for any January-March period, according to a new report issued by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

U.S. carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy use (natural gas, coal and oil) during the first quarter were the lowest in two decades for any January-March period, according to a new report issued by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Growing use of gas-fired power plants in the United States is helping, to a large extent, to drive down the country’s emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Since 2006, the United States has led the world in cutting CO2 emissions, the agency said recently.

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead on Tuesday kicked off what he hopes will be a public discussion on the establishment of a network of carbon dioxide (CO2) pipeline corridors that ultimately could be used to site all other types of energy pipelines, including natural gas, oil and liquids.

Santa Barbara, CA-based Hypersolar Inc. has filed a patent application for the production of a carbon-neutral methane gas made using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide (CO2) that the company said “can be used as a direct replacement for traditional natural gas.” HyperSolar is developing a solar-powered nanoparticle system that mimics photosynthesis to separate hydrogen from water; the hydrogen can then be reacted with CO2 to produce methane “without drilling or [hydraulic fracturing],” the company said.

Contrary to some previous reports, natural gas offers greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions advantages compared with coal-fired power generation, according to a recent study by Worldwatch Institute and Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors. Earlier this year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency updated its methodology for estimating methane (CH4) emissions from natural gas systems, but gas-fired generation still releases 47% less GHGs than coal from source to use, the researchers said. A controversial study by Cornell University earlier this year reported that CH4 leaks were a particular concern for gas produced from shale formations using hydraulic fracturing (see Shale Daily, April 13). But even counting higher estimated emissions of CH4 from shale gas production activities, gas-fired power generation still beats coal-fired power by a wide margin when it comes to overall GHG emissions, according to a subsequent study published by the gas-friendly American Clean Skies Foundation (see Shale Daily, April 21). IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates in August said GHG emissions from shale gas production likely are “significantly overstated” (see Shale Daily, Aug. 25). Another recent study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research found that burning natural gas emits “far less” carbon dioxide than coal but even so, more reliance on gas won’t significantly slow climate change.

A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee Thursday voted out legislation that would bar the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the Clean Air Act (CAA).