The natural gas revolution has brought big changes to the U.S. energy
scene. Natural gas prices, which used to move closely together with oil
prices, have plunged in the last five years, as the following chart
shows. One result has been the rapid displacement of coal by natural gas
in electric power generation. According to
a recent report
from the Union of Concerned Scientists, some 100 gigawatts of
coal-fired electric plants, representing more than a quarter of coal
capacity and nearly a tenth of total U.S. electric capacity, have either
been closed or are likely soon to be closed because they have become
uncompetitive with natural gas. Natural gas has also been displacing oil
at a rapid rate as a home heating fuel. In transportation, however, the
use of natural gas is spreading more slowly.
Transportation ranks second only to electric power generation in
total energy use. There are at least three ways to use natural gas to
power transportation. One is to generate electricity with natural gas,
which can then power electric cars or electrified rail lines. Another is
to convert natural gas to liquids like methanol or synthetic gasoline.
However, as I discussed in
this post
two years ago, the biggest potential lies in the direct use of
compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquid natural gas (LNG) as a fuel for
natural gas vehicles (NGVs).
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