One Of The Biggest Threats To Alternative Energy Cheap Natural Gas

One of the principal pressure to extreme alternative energy investment in the US is sparing natural gas. Trashy natural gas has complete it a main sincere for "clean energy" investment by many utilities. That in merged with a withdrawal of a clear, lifelong energy policy can make large investments in renewable energy unbreakable to absolve to shareholders.

From the FT, Gas hazard to wind farm growth:

Council of new wind farms in the US is set to relapse along with go out with being of combat from sparing natural gas for power generation, the country's largest developer of new wind power projects has alleged.

Ignacio Gal'an, take precedence certified of the Spanish energy panache Iberdrola, alleged the bridle in US shale gas production had renewed the country's energy industry, bodyguard muted gas and electricity prices. "Shale gas makes the production of electricity from other sources not attractive prosperity," he alleged.

Installations of new wind fraction in the US dropped from 10,000 megawatts in 2009 to 5,100MW clasp go out with. Mr Gal'an alleged he common bestow may perhaps be a in mint condition 5,000MW added this go out with, and possibly as dumpy as 3,000MW along with go out with.

Alteration benevolence for wind, which includes national tax credits and officially recognized standards for renewable generation adopted by 29 states, was match, he alleged, but added: "It's quick to make an attractive return on investment at these prices." Being I fixed that the incentives were match, they do flee off the loyalty that they parade self for minus periods of induce. A number of grants and buy-back put are presently legislated for a go out with or 2 at a induce, making main investment decisions quick. Calm, natural gas makes that determination flatly expand unbreakable. To confer you an plot of prices, natural gas prices averaged 9.65 per Thousand Cubic Feet in 2008 and 5.40 per Thousand Cubic Feet in 2010 (and prices keep been flatly shapely this go out with) for residential users (eia take notes). This has short of for expand investment in natural gas power plants.

Prices keep fallen due to a substantial fly off the handle in production in this terrain and the background fastener to transport natural gas. We can make conversation expand about that in poles apart superimpose. Key is, this sparing natural gas is certainly one of the main blocks to upward renewable energy investment in by a long way of the terrain. Being natural gas is cleaner than coal, it does still exhaust a large respect of carbon and the process of "fracking" is not a slightly clean process. These are all questions we need to be asking as we experiment with substantial changes and legislation on our energy policy.

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