‘Natural’ gas not as good as solar – despite the gas industry’s best efforts
Now that the Paris climate agreement has made it clear that the world must take serious action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the fossil fuel industry is starting to get worried.
Coal consumption is declining, and the gas sector is flat. And just as the coal industry is claiming coal is good for humanity, the gas industry is claiming that combining gas appliances with solar PV is the most practical and cost-effective way to achieve the lowest carbon emissions.
The shift away from gas, along with the high number of Australians putting solar on their roofs must make joining the solar revolution appear to be the ideal option for the gas industry.
The future for gas doesn’t look good. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has outlined that new technologies and changing consumer behaviour are behind the flat forecasts for residential and commercial gas consumption over the next five years.
Matt Zema, the CEO of AEMO, said: “Due to forecast improved energy efficiency of buildings and appliances, and switching from gas to electric appliances, we don’t anticipate much change in this sector in the short term, despite a forecast population growth of approximately 8%.”
Let’s not forget here that so-called ‘natural’ gas is a fossil fuel, and is primarily composed of methane, a greenhouse gas that is more than 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide, or that domestic gas is increasingly derived from coal seam gas through fracking that affects groundwater and agricultural production, or that the price of gas is steadily increasing.
Yet the gas industry claims that gas is as good as solar: “For households that have adopted solar energy to reduce their emissions, gas also plays an important role when the sun is not shining.” But a variety of analysis tells a different story, and shows that gas is not needed for houses with rooftop solar.
High efficiency electrical appliances, such as induction cookstoves and reverse-cycle air conditioners for heating and cooling, mean that there is no longer any need to use gas for cooking or for heating. When a home is powered by solar, these cooking and heating appliances are powered by 100% renewable energy. These are real alternatives to gas, are much more efficient, cheaper to run, and mean that the householder has control over their energy bills.
Also look at the average hot water system. A heat pump hot water system, using ambient heat from the air around your home, which is essentially another form of solar energy, is highly efficient and is another form of renewable energy. The latest heat pump hot water systems are much more energy efficient (pdf) and cheaper to run than either instantaneous gas systems or off-peak electric hot water systems.
Electrical appliances deliver more useful energy than gas appliances. Compare a typical ducted gas heating system to a reverse-cycle air conditioner. Research has shown that to deliver 10MJ (mega joules) of useful heat in a home, the ducted gas system will waste almost 25MJ of energy, while the air conditioner will wast e just over 2MJ. The efficiency of a heat pump reverse-cycle air conditioner can exceed 400% as it captures free renewable ambient heat from the air around your home, compared to a ducted gas heating system where efficiency can be as low as 29%.
Analysis shows that a heat pump reverse-cycle air conditioner can save a large Melbourne home over $658 (£322) per year in heating costs. Heat pump hot water and space conditioning systems are can revolutionise household renewable energy technology, using ambient heat from the air, day or night, rain or shine.
The gas industry also claims that gas will support energy security. While a diverse range of energy sources will guarantee energy security in Australia, renewable energy is the only one to provide long term energy security in a world that is rapidly decarbonising.
Despite the gas industry’s claims, renewable energy technologies work when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. Large-scale concentrated solar thermal systems store energy overnight using molten salt technology and pumped storage off-river hydro systems store energy in dams, releasing energy 24 hours a day.
The industry’s claims that gas can “ supply power for electric vehicles at a fraction of the emissions levels of grid-sourced electricity” [pdf] is yet another attempt to market gas as clean and green, and also assumes that grid electricity will be based on coal forever.
It’s well-known that the penetration of rooftop solar in Australia is the highest in the world and is increasing rapidly, and that electric vehicles supplied with power from gas are not based on renewable energy.
Electric vehicles charged with power coming from renewable energy sources are the only zero emissions vehicles. An electricity grid based on renewable energy will power electric light vehicles as well as other zero emissions forms of transport such as high speed rail .
As for the gas industry’s claims that gas is required for the production of fertilisers and the manufacture of bricks, steel and glass, zero emissions agriculture is the new paradigm with no tillage farming and nutrient recycling, reducing the need for fertilisers. High temperature solar thermal is also showing potential to be used in multiple industrial processes.
Renewables will always beat coal and gas, and new solar and wind are cheaper than new coal and new gas. The world has reached a turning point, and is now adding more power capacity from renewables every year than from coal, natural gas and oil combined. Over 1000 mayors from around the world have seen the writing on the wall, all committing to 100% renewable energy in Paris. And high efficiency electrical cooking and heating appliances powered by rooftop solar are widely available. Energy freedom is ready and waiting for every Australian household.