What the CPP means for AZ

Now that we have a basis for natural gas, next comes the big question of what the impact of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) will have on the natural gas industry in Arizona. The CPP seeks to reduce nationwide carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 30% by 2030 and has state-specific reduction targets for carbon dioxide reductions. For Arizona, the reduction target is 52% by 2030, which is the second highest target in the nation. 

For more information on the Clean Power Plan, visit here. 

To achieve this reduction, EPA offers states four building blocks to choose from. These building blocks are meant to offer flexibility. The four building blocks are: (1) improve the efficiency of fossil-fueled power plants; (2) use of lower-emitting generation sources such as natural gas, or fuel-switching to natural gas, and use of nuclear power; (3) demand-side efficiency; and (4) renewable electric generation.

For Arizona, the building block that offers the greatest reduction of CO2 is from building block 2, switching from coal-fired power plants to natural gas-fired power plants, as stated from Henry Darwin, director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. 

What does that mean for the state of Arizona? Well, the trend of natural gas without the proposed CPP was already projected in increase nationwide. The CPP acts as another driver to increase the demand for natural gas. The increase in demand will eventually lead to higher natural gas prices for consumers. Since there will be a decrease in demand for coal, production in coal will lower resulting in a loss of jobs in the coal industry. While it looks like natural gas producers will be in a winning situation with the Clean Power Plan, the environmental impacts associated with hydraulic fracking should be assessed. 

If Arizona implements building block 2, is the shift from coal to natural gas feasible? For Arizona, this is a complex question. Increasing demand for natural gas production will create many issues which will impact:

• natural gas infrastructure
• transmission
• electric reliability

Generation from both AZ's coal and natural gas plants is not interchangeable given the distance between existing plants resulting in transmission and reliability concerns.

Additionally, there are issues for the state of Arizona and its role as an electricity supplier. According to the EIA, Arizona generates more electricity than it consumes. It is an exporter of electricity supplying electricity for El Paso, Texas and Los Angeles, California. If Arizona switches to using more natural gas, Arizona may no longer be an exporter of electricity as Arizona gets about ⅖ of its electricity from coal.

Most of the electricity that AZ generates is from coal-fired power plants.

My next blog posts will go into depth on the issues raised from the implementation of EPA's CPP for Arizona including concerns on natural gas infrastructure, transmission, and reliability.

What's Trending? Natural Gas!

As we explore the use of natural gas, it’s important to look at the trend and projections of natural gas and the energy market. According to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Annual Energy Outlook 2014 report, natural gas grows by an average rate of 1.6% per year from 2012 to 2040.

 Additionally, because of the increase in natural gas production the U.S. switches from being an importer of natural gas to an exporter of natural gas before 2020.

Consumption of natural gas grows in the industrial sector by about 2 Tcf and electric power sector by about 2.5 Tcf. These increases in consumption are based on low natural gas prices and the ability of natural gas to replace retired coal-fired power plants.

Across the board, natural gas is projected to increase for end-users except in the residential consumption sector. This slow gradual decrease is expected with improvements in appliance efficiency and as populations shift towards warmer regions.

The top four electric associations to increase in consumption in the electric power sector are SERC Reliability Corporation (SERC), Reliability First Corportation (RFC), Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), and Texas Reliability Entity (TRE). SERC and RFC's projected consumption in natural gas increases due to the retirement of coal-fired power plants. WECC and TRE's projected natural gas consumption increases due to projected growth in electricity demand.

Where will the natural gas come from, you might ask? Well, the EIA projects that natural gas will come primarily from Shale Gas with a 56% increase from 2012-2040.

EIA's overall projections for natural gas look good. Looking at the projections, can you see natural gas a a viable fuel for the future? What other factors may influence these trends?

My next blog post will cover the proposed EPA’s Clean Power Plan, and how that may affect natural gas production and consumption.

Power Plants from Space

Another quick post.

It's often said that the Great Wall of China can be seen from space. While this might not be true, it is a fact that we can see other man-made products. Did you know that you can see coal-fired power plants from space? It's true! Below is a still image with a red lined plume from one of the three visible plants.

Infrared Imagery from GOES13 Satellite

Though since that's a bit hard to make out, here's the full-size gif.

Natural Gas 101

So how do we get natural gas from the ground? There are two processes I will discuss, hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. These processes are used simultaneously. Hydraulic fracturing, aka fracking, is a method that stimulates the flow of natural gas in ground rock formations.Typically, a well is drilled vertically several thousands of feet underground to the designated rock formation (usually shale), and laid horizontally, which is horizontal drilling. Then fluid, which consists of water, sand, and certain additives, is pumped through the well at high pressure to open up rock fractures in the designated rock formation. The internal pressure causes fluid to be sent to the surface. Presto! We have natural gas. 

Source: Our Environment

Horizontal drilling allows for a multitude of vertical wells to be drilled from a single well pad. These wells fan out upon reaching the specified layer of rock formation allowing for an increase of natural gas production from a single well pad.

Here is a picture from the Energy Information Administration on natural gas power plants, depicted by the blue flame, and interstate pipelines in Arizona.

Source: Energy Information Administration

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2012 Arizona produced 117 million cu ft. of natural gas. More than two-thirds of natural gas is used in the power sector in Arizona, while the other third is used in the residential sector. In 2012, Arizona consumed 339.1 trillion btu of natural gas. Arizona does not have an underground natural gas storage facility so most of the natural gas that is used in Arizona is imported. The two primary rock formations that supply natural gas for Arizona are the San Juan Basin in New Mexico and the Permian Basin in Texas. The natural gas is imported through interstate natural gas pipelines.

This picture depicts the United States' natural gas pipelines in 2007 and the states that are dependent on interstate natural gas pipelines as their primary supply of natural gas. The grey states represent dependent states.

Source: Energy Information Administration

Upcoming blog: Trends of natural gas, and the potential impact of the EPA's proposed Clean Power Plan ruling on natural gas.

Shut-Down of Arizona's Generators

I wanted to do a quick post, as I've received an influx of articles on the shutting down of generators in several of Arizona's coal-fired power plants.

Before 2012, there were 8 such power plants: Abitibi Snowflake Power Plant, Apache Generating Station, Cholla Power Plant, Coronado Generating Station, Four Corners Generating Station, H. Wilson Sundt Generating Station, Navajo Generating Station, and Springerville Generating Station.

In October of 2012, Abitibi Snowflake Power Plant was closed. In September of 2013, Navajo Generating Station began consideration of shutting down one of its three units. In December of the same year, Four Corners shut down three of its five units. This past September, Cholla plans to close one of its four units and Apache has just had it's plan to convert one unit to natural gas approved by the EPA, and even more changes are exceedingly likely (or have just been accidentally skipped over! Oops!).

Of these examples, all but Abitibi Snowflake is related to changing regulations under the EPA, under the goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants by 30% (of 2005 levels) by 2030. Related, I feel the need to point the word "existing" in that sentence.

Needless to say, it is obvious that the face of coal is changing, for better or worse. I hope to take a more in-depth look at this in the near-future.

Just the Beginning of Natural Gas

Hello everyone, I'm the second/other blogger, Crystal. Here is my first, amazing blog post. My awesome topic: natural gas. Enjoy!

Blue flame of natural gas

In the areas of present-day Iraq, there were stories of “eternal fires” from Plutarch’s writings around 100 to 125 A.D., which was most likely natural gas seeping from cracks in the ground and ignited by lightning. I'm quite sure I would be freaked out if I saw this myself, but good for Plutarch for writing it down.

The first drilled natural gas well was in 1821 in Fredonia, New York by William H. Hart, who drilled a 27-foot deep well. Natural gas was used mainly as fuel for lamps in the 1800's, but after the invention of the ‘Bunsen Burner’ in 1855, natural gas demonstrated its greater potential for heating and cooking. Pipelines were needed to transmit natural gas and in 1891, a 120-mile long pipeline was completed to transport natural gas from central Indiana to Chicago. After World War II with improvements in metals and welding techniques, a pipeline network was constructed in the 1950's and 1960's. 

Today, there is a vast network of natural gas pipelines. Just look at all the blue lines!

Today's U.S. natural gas pipelines

Natural gas can be found in shale formations, sandstone beds, and coal seams. The diagram below illustrates the process of hydraulic fracturing, the process to get natural gas out of the ground. I will delve deeper into this topic later, but for now I hope this simple diagram will satisfy your curiosity.

In Arizona, the largest natural gas-fired plant produces 2,060 MW at the Gila River Power Station. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2012 Arizona produced 117 million cu ft. of natural gas, a small fraction of the overall U.S. natural gas production. About one-third of Arizonans use natural gas as their primary home heating source. In your household, what do you use natural gas for?

Gila River Power Station, Arizona

That's enough for now. I'm a little beat from all this talk about natural gas. But remember, this is just the beginning of natural gas, so more information soon to follow. Have an amazing day!

Coal - The Beginning

So to start this blog off 'right,' let's begin through a brief introduction: I am one half of a Crystal & Dan team-up (specifically, the Dan half). Our goal? World domination through the coal and natural gas industries. Of course, that's a big step, so we'll start off small by focusing on the coal and natural gas industry within the U.S. state of Arizona.

For the non-Americans seeing this blog, Arizona is located here.

(Aside: our posts might differ in content and might not match up with each other (as we will be focusing on differing aspects and things). Still, it is our hope that you'll soon see the connections between both as this blog evolves.)

In any case, to even begin contemplating that, it's always best to gather as much resources as possible. To me, this means going back in time and seeing why the coal industry even came to be. So, without further ado, let us delve into some historical goodness!

Coal has been used for heating and smelting for an incredibly long time. Records in China indicate that surface mining has been happening since 3500 B.C. To give a comparison, this is before Ancient Egypt was a thing, and the Sahara had yet to become a desert.

So while it was a long-known element, the U.S. didn't really take advantage of its own resources until around 1850, when it began to take over wood as the primary heating source. Fast-forward to more current time (let's say around... 2000), and Arizona is both a state and one of the 26 coal producers (though it produces the least of every other state). Its sole source of coal is Kayenta Mine.

Strip Mine A, Kayenta Mine

According to U.S. Energy Information Administration, this mine provides about 7.5 million short tons of coal to be burned annually at the Navajo Generating Station, one of Arizona's 7 currently running coal-fired power plants. With all their powers combined, these plants generate roughly 25% of the energy produced in the state.

So coal isn't a minor thing in Arizona! Next post, I'll do some research on the key players (READ: the companies, etc.).