Facebook Instagram Linkedin RSS Twitter Youtube

New Report Finds Natural Gas Saved Texans $60 Billion

Port Arthur Texas Chemical Manufacturing

CEA President David Holt was quoted discussing the latest CEA report, “Oil and Natural Gas Light the Way for Texans,” which looked at the savings Texas energy consumers witnessed as a result of decreasing natural gas prices.

“It’s no secret Texas is a national and global leader in energy production. But what remained under the radar was how this sustained leadership, paired with the ability to move resources through pipeline infrastructure, greatly benefited Texas families and businesses and helped fund critical municipal services including schools, hospitals, and roads.”

Read more – Texans for Natural Gas

Report: Coloradans Saved Nearly $12.4 Billion Over 10 Years Thanks to Lower Natural Gas Prices

Urban Downtown Denver Colorado 16th Street Mall Tower

DENVER, CO — The state with the Mile High City is also experiencing mile high savings – in energy costs – a new report by Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) reveals.

Thanks to record energy production and safer, state-of-the-art technologies, which has significantly reduced the price of natural gas, Colorado households and businesses saved nearly $12.4 billion between 2006 and 2016, CEA said in a report released today. Residential users saved over $4.3 billion and commercial and industrial users saved more than $8 billion, the report, titled “The Importance of Affordable and Abundant Oil and Natural Gas for Colorado,” said.

The analysis examines how the shale revolution has helped families and businesses statewide increase disposable income, job growth, and economic investment, as well as revitalize communities. Case in point: Aurora’s city manager, in 2018, proposed a budget that included $1 million in oil and gas property taxes to be set aside for affordable housing projects.

That’s important because on average, each Colorado resident spent $2,681 for their energy needs in 2016. While this may not seem like a lot to some, it is a lot for the more than 10 percent of Coloradoans who live in poverty, or more than 564,000 men, women, and children. For those people living at or below the poverty line that translates to at least 22 percent of their income going toward energy expenses.

CEA’s analysis also found that the state’s oil and gas industries support 232,900 workers, contribute over $31.4 billion to the state’s economy and accounts for nearly 10 percent of gross state product, supporting jobs in 50 the state’s 64 counties. Moreover, producers contributed nearly $1.2 billion to state budgets via property, income and severance taxes in addition to public land leases and royalties – all of which helps funds municipal services including school, road maintenance, and safety. The State Land Board, for instance, has distributed $1.4 billion in revenue from energy development to build and support public schools over the last 10 years.

But should voters approve a proposed initiative, Ballot Proposition 112, next month, the following could unfold:

  • 54 percent of the state’s entire land surface would be made off-limits to oil and gas production, decreasing property and severance tax revenue and income from land leases and royalties
  • Local tax revenues statewide would be reduced during the first year, from $459 million to $258 million – a 56 percent cut. Lost revenues could reach $1 billion by 2030.
  • School funding would be reduced by 60 percent, with $230.3 million eliminated over a three-year period, according to a State Land Board estimation.
  • Famers who lease land to energy companies would lose a significant portion of their income, hurting the state’s agricultural sector.
  • Households would see their energy costs increase. On average, each Colorado resident spent $2,681 on energy needs in 2016. For the approximately 564,000 residents in poverty – that’s more than 10 percent of the state’s population – that translates to at least 22 percent of their income.
  • States gasoline prices have sustained a 4.7 percent increase as access to local energy resources has been challenged; on-highway diesel has seen a 1.7 percent bump.

“Colorado has fast become one of America’s leaders in safe, economical oil and natural gas production, rejuvenating communities statewide and helping families and businesses of all sizes reduce expenses, growth and prosper via abundant sources of locally-made, affordable energy,” CEA Executive Vice President Andrew Browning, in Denver, said.

“Yet anti-development activists, funded by organizations from out of state, are threatening our way of life by trying to eliminate the production and transportation of these safe, affordable resources despite Colorado having the strongest air and water regulatory framework for oil and gas production in the nation. Their efforts threaten the environment and offer no realistic solutions to how we meet growing consumer demand, fund much-need municipal services and reduce costs for those who need it most – all key points voters must keep in mind when they cast their ballots in the coming weeks.”

To view the report, click here.

###

About Consumer Energy Alliance
Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) brings together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers and manufacturers to support America’s energy future. With more than 500,000 members nationwide, our mission is to help ensure stable prices and energy security for households across the country. We believe energy development is something that touches everyone in our nation, and thus it is necessary for all of us to actively engage in the conversation about how we develop our diverse energy resources and energy’s importance to the economy. Learn more at ConsumerEnergyAlliance.org.

Contact:
Emily Haggstrom
P: 720-582-0242
ehaggstrom@consumerenergyalliance.org

Top 5 News Stories in Energy This Week

Diplomatic conversation continue around Turkey, Hurricane Michael makes its way to the Atlantic, and Kanye West heads to the White House, but here’s what you missed in energy this week. Catch up on all your energy needs each week as we highlight energy news and stories that are shaping global markets and affecting daily life.

Two welders in manufacturing facility

5Cybersecurity and Energy Infrastructure

The United States Department of Energy recently announced a $28 million check to aid in research, development and demonstration of new technology to strengthen the cybersecurity of our nation’s energy infrastructure. Using the available state-of-the-art technologies will help prevent, detect, and mitigate cyber-attacks on our vital energy infrastructure, including the electric grid and pipelines. Improving the cybersecurity of our infrastructure is about more than just keeping the lights on, it also helps bolster our national security.

Stack of pipelines

4The U.S. Approves Part of the TransCanada Mountaineer Pipeline

The TransCanada Mountaineer Xpress pipeline is one step closer to fruition as U.S. federal energy regulators approved a request to put the Mountaineer’s Elk River compressor station into service. The Mountaineer is a natural gas pipeline designed to connect the Marcellus and Utica shale in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio with consumers across the United States and Canada. The proposed pipeline has a capacity of 2-billion cubic feet per day, which is enough gas to power about 10 million U.S. homes per day. At the same time, shale drillers in the Appalachian region are scheduled to have record high output of around 29.4 Bcf/d this month up from 24.2 Bcf/d this time last year.

Port cranes loading ship

3America as a Net Export of LNG Explained

As of January 2018, the U.S. first became a net exporter of natural gas thanks to increased shale exploration and new technology. LNG, or liquefied natural gas, is predicted to grow from 22% to 24% of the global energy mix by 2035 – allowing U.S. cities such as Houston and Jacksonville to take advantage of its increased natural gas production as markets in Asia, the Middle East and Europe already import U.S. LNG. As nation’s look for an energy source that is better for the environment, natural gas consumption is predicted to continue rising through 2050.

Trash in Stadium

2Recycling Efforts Pay Off

As global waste production continues to grow – potentially tripling by 2100, the need for reducing discarded waste becomes increasingly necessary. After examining data collected over a five-year period of 245 Massachusetts communities, three strategies top the list as the most effective actions municipal governments can implement to reduce waste and increase recycling. The most effective strategy is a pay-as-you-throw trash (PAYT) program – where residents pay per trash bag or bin of waste discarded, but are not charged for recycled materials.

Row of solar panels on a solar farm

1Giant Sundial Shows How Much Energy its Making

Right inside the front doors of United Therapeutic’s new headquarters, on the wall of the building’s atrium, you may notice the 24 silver markers placed in the shape of a circle – resembling a giant sundial. This Maryland-based biotech company is one of the only “site net-zero” buildings on the East Coast – meaning the new headquarters will only use the energy it generates within its footprint. To remind workers and show when the building is using energy, the Energy Dial’s 24 beams of light will point to the center, displaying a geometric pattern on the wall. When the lights reverse their direction, the Energy Dial is showing that the building is generating solar energy.

Report: Texans Saved Nearly $60 Billion Over 10 Years Thanks to Natural Gas

Houston

HOUSTON, TX — Everything is bigger in Texas, even savings from energy costs, according to a new report by Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA).

Thanks to record energy production and safer, environmentally efficient state-of-the-art technologies, which has cut the price of natural gas, Texan households and businesses saved nearly $60 billion between 2006 and 2016, according to a CEA report released today at an energy and labor forum co-hosted with the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE).

Residential users saved more than $7.2 billion and commercial and industrial users saved nearly $52.4 billion, the report, titled “Oil and Natural Gas Light the Way for Texans” said. The analysis details how the national and local energy revolution – particularly the one now unfolding in the Permian Basin – has helped energy consumers increase disposable income and has also sparked job growth and economic investment.  The revolution has revitalized communities like Midland and Odessa, both of which have seen their building permits, hotel revenue and home and car sales increase while unemployment rates have fallen to record-low levels.

The following speakers discussed the report’s findings and the energy revolution’s impact on the economy and labor market, plus other hot-button industry issues:

  • S. Representative Gene Green (D-Texas)
  • Harris County Judge Ed Emmett
  • Dan Crenshaw (Republican candidate for Texas’s 2nd congressional district)
  • Lizzie Fletcher (Democratic candidate for Texas’s 7th congressional district)
  • Representatives from Phillips 66 and the Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL)

“It’s no secret Texas is a national and global leader in energy production. But what remained under the radar was how this sustained leadership, paired with the ability to move resources through pipeline infrastructure, greatly benefitted Texas families and businesses and helped fund critical municipal services including schools, hospitals, and roads,” CEA President David Holt, based in Houston, said. “The bottom line is that the continued production of traditional energy resources has supported countless communities, here and nationally, for generations, regularly providing affordable energy and helping trigger an economic rebirth unlike any we’ve seen before.”

“Yet despite these benefits, progress continues to be threatened by out-of-state activists – some funded by foreign governments – hard at work to eliminate the production and transportation of safe, lower-cost energy without realistic alternatives to how we effectively meet fast-rising residential and industrial energy demand cost-effectively and maintain our global leadership in environmental stewardship. Only our elected leaders have the ability to push forward efforts that support balanced energy solutions and allow for the responsible development of all resources and the affordable energy they provide.”

Speakers at the event also touched on how, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the job growth rate in Texas was 3.0 percent, significantly higher than the national rate of 1.7 percent. That’s led to a surge in demand for skilled workers, said Brandon Willis, the Public Affairs Agent for IUOE.

“At IUOE Local 450, we have filled more than 2,400 requests for certified candidates between January 2017 and October 2018, filling over 1,150 such requests in the first nine months of 2018 alone. More than 200 apprentices are now receiving training in IUOE’s three-year apprenticeship program.” Willis said. “None would have been made possible without the development of our state’s resources, which has fueled a resurgence, put thousands back to work and reduced energy costs. To keep this going, local, state and federal policymakers must embrace every opportunity we have to show their support for energy.”

John Stoody, Vice President of Government and Public Relations at AOPL, added: “It’s an exciting time to harness the benefits of abundant American energy through great pipeline construction, wages, and lasting consumer benefits.”

Other highlights from the report include:

  • The oil and natural gas extraction industry saw growth rates exceed 13 percent in 2017 and 2018, year to date.
  • In the fiscal year 2017, oil production contributed more than $2 billion to the state’s budget; natural gas added nearly $1 billion.
  • The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts estimates $4.9 billion in oil tax collections and $1.8 billion in natural gas collections for the 2018-19 biennium.
  • In June 2018, the number of “direct upstream oil and gas jobs” – including extraction, service, and drilling – was about 228,600.
  • On average, each Texas resident spent $4,004 on energy-related costs in 2016. For those in poverty, this translated to at least a third of their income. More than 4 million live in poverty or about 15 percent of the state’s population.
  • The state has about 24 million registered vehicles and almost 7.4 million households.

To view the report, click here.

###

About Consumer Energy Alliance
Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) brings together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers and manufacturers to support America’s energy future. With more than 500,000 members nationwide, our mission is to help ensure stable prices and energy security for households across the country. We believe energy development is something that touches everyone in our nation, and thus it is necessary for all of us to actively engage in the conversation about how we develop our diverse energy resources and energy’s importance to the economy. Learn more at ConsumerEnergyAlliance.org.

Contact:
Emily Haggstrom
P: 720-582-0242
ehaggstrom@consumerenergyalliance.org

NM Energy Key to Future

CEA’s Emily Haggstrom looks at the benefits increased energy production in New Mexico has yielded to communities across the state.

Record output and energy infrastructure investment allowed lawmakers and Gov. (Susana) Martinez to allocate more funding to programs that sustain roads, schools and public safety. Energy has also given the state strong cash reserves, a reversal from a year ago, when lawmakers faced a ballooning budget gap.

Read more – Albuquerque Journal

Hydrogen and Fuel Cells – Energy Explorer

Fueling a hydrogen vehicle

Among the many alternative energy technologies being developed at the moment, fuel cells powered by hydrogen are among the most interesting and potentially useful. Even though they haven’t reached full commercialization yet, hydrogen fuel cells could be a major feature in the electrical landscape of the future.

Here’s what you need to know about hydrogen fuel cells and the applications that may one day be used.

How Do Hydrogen Fuel Cells Produce Electricity?

Fuel cells produce power by stripping hydrogen atoms of the electrons that normally surround their nuclei. When a hydrogen atom enters a fuel cell, it is chemically ionized through the removal of its normal one electron. This process takes place at the cell anode, where hydrogen is introduced. At the cell’s cathode, oxygen atoms are introduced into the reaction. Ionized hydrogen atoms are combined with oxygen atoms to form water molecules, which are the byproduct of hydrogen fuel cells. The electrons that are stripped from the hydrogen atoms, meanwhile, are left as a free flow of electrical current.

It is worth noting that there are many different types of fuel cells that can be used to generate electricity, not all of which use hydrogen as their fuel. Direct methanol fuel cells, for instance, use methanol as the source of their electrical current. The three most common types of hydrogen fuel cells are proton exchange, alkaline, and phosphoric acid cells.

Uses of Fuel Cells

Fuel cells have many potential applications, but the one that is probably best-known is as a power source for vehicles. Hydrogen-powered cars use fuel cells to power electric motors that turn the wheels and provide propulsion. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are functionally very similar to more familiar battery-powered electric vehicles. The major difference is that hydrogen fuel cell cars don’t need to be plugged in for long periods of time to charge since they are powered by an onboard fuel source rather than a battery. Fuel cells are also being explored as a power source for portable electronics.

Although most fuel cell applications involve small-scale uses like the ones mentioned above, the technology has also been proposed for use as a supplement to power grids. Experts believe that fuel cells could be used to provide backup power during outages, making them a good choice for distributed power.

Pros and Cons of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology

The most obvious advantage of hydrogen fuel cells is that they produce no toxic or environmentally dangerous exhaust, making them excellent green technology. They also run on the single most common element in the universe, meaning that the fuel supply for hydrogen cells is effectively limitless. On a practical level for the consumer, hydrogen fuel cells produce no noise and do not degrade over time. The noiseless aspect of hydrogen fuel cell technology is especially important for its application in powering electric cars.

At the same time, this technology also comes with its drawbacks. Cost is a major impediment for the implementation of fuel cell technology, as the cells themselves are very expensive to manufacture. Hydrogen fuel cells are also very sensitive to high temperatures, making them unsuitable for some applications.

Commercial Projects

Hydrogen fuel cells have already been successfully implemented in commercially available automobiles. The Toyota Mirai, for instance, is a vehicle powered by hydrogen fuel cells that can be purchased on the consumer vehicle market. Hydrogen fueling stations are still fairly hard to come by, but they are becoming more common. The state of California, for example, as of April 2021 is home to 52 hydrogen stations with 10 new stations under construction, another 29 in the permitting process, 11 being proposed, and 71 that are funded but not in development. It’s safe to say the state has doubled down on this endeavor and has seen not only the value in the market but in the future growth of this future fuel.

On the grid level, relatively few hydrogen fuel cell projects are underway. One project that does have interesting potential, though, is a plan by UK gas company SSE to implement hydrogen fuel cells for power generation in Aberdeenshire. The project is intended to test the grid-level potential of hydrogen power, and it will likely yield valuable information for future projects of the same sort.

Overall, hydrogen fuel cell technology is extremely promising but underdeveloped. As the technology is improved and cell costs are brought down, though, this technology will likely provide consumers with a reliable source of green energy for everything from cars to homes. By backing up the power grid during outages, hydrogen fuel cells can also help consumers avoid prolonged outages and ultimately make them less dependent on centralized power generation.

State Chamber, Labor Groups Unite in Support of Pipeline

Construction worker welding pipe

Building new energy infrastructure, like pipelines, will help reduce dependence on Middle Eastern oil while promoting job growth and economic development here at home.

“The Nebraska chamber supports the Keystone XL project because of the benefits it would provide to Nebraska’s working families and the state’s economy,” Chamber President Bryan Slone said….

…“Nebraska’s workers welcome TransCanada’s project, and hopes the State Department will work quickly to once and for all approve the route and put us to work, said Sue Martin, president of the Nebraska State AFL-CIO.

Read more – Norfolk Daily News

This Win­ter, Use Nat­u­ral Gas to Heat Homes

Senior citizen keeping warm by the fire

Many have taken notice of the publication of CEA’s “Everyday Energy for Pennsylvania,” report which examines the consumer savings caused by the increased production of natural gas.

This winter, fortunately, more residents will have a clean, reliable, safe alternative for heating their homes: natural gas. This resource has become essential to our everyday lives and there are plenty of reasons that is so.

First, and most important, is that it’s affordable. We have an abundant supply of this resource that will last into the next century, and possibly beyond. According to a new report from the Consumers Energy Alliance, natural gas has saved residential customers in the commonwealth more than $13 billion over the past decade. At a time when we were climbing out of a recession, those dollars were more than welcome.

Read more – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Anti-pipeline Activists Play a Cynical, Costly Game

Mother and baby son with a book and a flashlight before going to bed

As anti-pipeline activists increasingly resort to violence, they continue to willfully ignore the safety benefits pipelines provide for the environment while assuring reliable delivery of the fuels that families use to power their lives.

These pipelines are without question the safest, most efficient and most environmentally-friendly way to move oil and natural gas to the markets they serve, and the demand for the products they transport is strong and growing stronger…

…But the activist groups don’t really care about any of that. They’re in this for the conflict, because the creation and maintenance of conflict is how they raise their money. That’s goal number one, the short-term goal of what they do.

Read more – Forbes

Natural Gas Has Revitalized the Region

Harpers Ferry West Virginia

Midwest Executive Director, Chris Ventura, sat down with the Intelligencer to discuss CEA’s latest report, Powering West Virginia, and how regulatory certainty and sound environmental regulations have allowed for a boom in energy production.

“They have been consistent in their regulations and support. … They take into account environmental effects,” Ventura said. “Regulators have maintained a pretty sound approach.”

Read more – The Intelligencer

1...135136137...338Page 136 of 338

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

© Consumer Energy Alliance