The Need

Geologic natural gas has been considered a strategic resource in developed countries since natural gas transmission and its local distribution by pipeline was developed in the post-war era. In the US and several other countries, it is a largely domestic or nearby resource and also has the lowest carbon intensity of any naturally occurring combustion fuel.  In addition, recent advances in gas recovery and production have led to dramatic increases of available supply and historically low production costs. The projections are of sufficient supplies for over 250 years at the present annual global consumption rate of 3.38 trillion cubic meters1.  The projections also show that the overall share of fossil fuels in the energy mix are only expected change slightly: from 81% in 2011 to 74% in 2035. 

It is the low environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gases and other harmful pollutants that makes natural gas this strategic resource for the future as well.  “Unlike other fossil fuels, natural gas plays a major role in most sectors of the modern economy — power generation, industrial, commercial and residential. It is clean and flexible. The role of natural gas in the world is likely to continue to expand under almost all circumstances, as a result of its availability, its utility and it’s comparatively low cost” 2  As a result large investments have been made in gas production, storage, transmission, distribution and utilization of natural gas.  “Despite its vital importance to the national economy, natural gas has often been overlooked, or at best taken for granted, in the debate about the future of energy in the U.S. Over the past two to three years this has started to change, and natural gas is finding its place at the heart of the energy discussion2. What is more important is the development of indigenous renewable gas, such as from waste that can use the same supply chain, potentially offers new options to support public policy and enable new market participants. 

Today’s natural gas industry is a diverse group of producers, transporters, distributors, traders,  marketers and service providers with varied goals by industry and by location.  The natural gas value-chain is also regulated by several government agencies with a variety of, at times, conflicting policy goals including public safety, energy affordability, reliability and resiliency, environmental protection, energy security, economic development, open markets and open access. To meet the energy challenges of our time and to enable the benefits of natural gas to contribute new solutions a more holistic view is needed. Key companies take a pragmatic view of the energy supply and plan to cut CO2 emissions by substituting bio-methane derived from waste materials such as landfills and wastewater treatment plants to further extend the gas supply. A case in point is National Grid, Long Island’s only gas utility that plans to cut CO2 emissions by 80% by 2050. However, “The likely technology mix in a carbon-constrained world, particularly in the power sector: the relative costs of different technologies may shift significantly in response to RD&D, and a CO2 emissions price will affect the relative costs. Moreover, the technology mix will be affected by regulatory and subsidy measures that will skew economic choices” 2. Hence there is a clear need to understand these choices and to assess the obstacles to enabling natural gas as an option.  Beyond gas production, there are gaps not covered by government or market participants that must be determined and analyzed and solutions developed through use of new data and enhanced R&D. These gaps are in broad areas from pipeline processes and technology to end-use technologies such as smart appliances. The proposed new academic institute *(see below) will have these as its primary functions.

The Institute of Gas Innovation and Technology (I-GIT) is a consortium of private and public sector businesses and organizations that believe natural gas and gas infrastructure can contribute to the solution for environmental and economic challenges of our times through applications of the principles of forward thinking public policies, including New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV). This institute will propose and develop technological solutions for climate change, energy affordability, improved safety and economic sustainability including local job creation.  The cornerstone of the program is the REV principles promoting new value-driven options and market animation. The Institute will collaborate and partner with research and policy initiatives sponsored by federal and state governments, in the US and abroad and industry.