1 / 30

Air & Waste Management Association September 13, 2012

U.S. Environmental Policy Issues and the Natural Gas Solution. Air & Waste Management Association September 13, 2012. The Cahaba Lilies Photo by Danny Smith. The First Issue: Climate Change Policy. A Menu of Options and Issues Associated with GHG Regulation. Carbon Offsets?.

herbst
Download Presentation

Air & Waste Management Association September 13, 2012

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. U.S. Environmental Policy Issues and the Natural Gas Solution Air & Waste Management Association September 13, 2012 The Cahaba Lilies Photo by Danny Smith

  2. The First Issue: Climate Change Policy

  3. A Menu of Options and Issues Associated with GHG Regulation Carbon Offsets? GHG Cap & Trade Program? Carbon Tax? GHG Emission Limits? Who do you regulate? Energy Efficiency Requirements? Carbon Sequestration? Full Fuel Cycles? Who are the Winners & Losers? Renewable Portfolio Standards? Would a Federal Program Preempt Existing State Programs?

  4. State Government Regulation of GHG Emissions

  5. EPA’s Mandatory GHG Emission Reporting Rule On September 22, 2009 EPA issued the Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule. The rule requires reporting of annual GHG emissions from the following: • Suppliers of fossil fuels and industrial greenhouse gases (GHGs) • Manufacturers of vehicles and engines outside of the light duty sector • Facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons or more of GHGs per year to submit annual reports to EPA.  The rule is intended to collect accurate and timely emissions data to guide future policy decisions on climate change.

  6. EPA’s Proposed New Electric Power Plant CO2 Standard • Would limit CO2 emissions from new electric power plants to 1,000 pounds per megawatt-hour • Would apply to new fossil fuel-fired power plants greater than 25 megawatts in size • The end result will be that new fossil fuel-fired power plants will more than likely be fueled with natural gas rather than coal or utilize Carbon Sequestration technologies • These proposed new rules were published on March 27, 2012 for 60 days public comment that was extended to June 25

  7. CO2 Capture and Sequestrationas a Climate Change Strategy Campfire Photo by Danny Smith

  8. CO2 Geologic Storage Slide Source: Southern Company Sandstone with porosity Cap Rock (Confining Formation) Shale with no porosity Injection Rock (Target Formation)

  9. Large CO2 geologic storage capacity is available Capacity (order of magnitude est.) Sequestration Option NOTE: “GtC” = Gigatonnes Carbon Slide Source: Southern Company

  10. Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Slide Source: Southern Company • Primary oil production uses reservoir pressure or pumping to • get 10‐20% of OOIP. • Secondary production, using water flooding gets another10‐20%. • Injecting CO2 reduces the oil viscosity and, with water can drive  • the mixture to production wells with another 10‐20%. • Some of the CO2 comes up with the  oil and is recycled. Source: USDOE/NETL

  11. Integrating CO2-EOR and Geologic Storage CO2 Source Oil to Market Production Well CO2 Injection CO2 Recycled 1 ton CO2 = 1-3 bbl oil Swept Area Oil Bank Oil Bank Slide Source: Southern Company Saline Reservoir

  12. The Cahaba Lilies in Alabama - Photo by Danny Smith Natural Gas as a Climate Change Strategy CLEAN ABUNDANT EFFICIENT

  13. Natural Gas is a CleanerGenerating Choice Approximately 23% of the electricity in the United States is generated from natural gas Source: American Gas Association

  14. The Full Fuel Cycle is the Basis for Sustainable Energy Choices

  15. Natural Gas is Abundant in the USA U.S. natural gas reserves are growing with more new gas discovered every year. Analysts believe enough future supply exists to meet America’s diverse energy needsfor 100 years.

  16. U.S. Natural Gas Production, 1990-2035 (trillion cubic feet) 2012 Annual Energy Outlook Early Release, Energy Information Administration.

  17. U.S. and Canada Shale Basins Source: National Energy Board, Understanding Canadian Shale Gas, 2009.

  18. Global Shale Resources Source: EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2011

  19. Shale Gas Production Technologies such as directional (horizontal) drilling and hydraulic fracturing have unlocked the potential for gas development from shale rocks

  20. The Second Issue: New EPA Hazardous Air Emission Standards for Electric Power Plants

  21. EPA’s New Mercury and Air Toxic (Utility MACT) Standards for Electric Power PlantsIssued February 16, 2012 • These Standards will reduce mercury and various other air toxic emissions from new and existing coal- and oil-fired power plants • Emissions-control technology options include: • Scrubbers • Electrostatic Precipitators • Fabric Filters • Activated Carbon Injection / Dry Sorbent Injection • Blending or Switching Fuels (i.e. natural gas!) • Compliance time up to 4 years • Natural Gas Fired Power Plants are not Effected by these Standards!

  22. In the U.S., Power Plants Emit: 30%of the nickel 13% of the NOx 20% of the chromium 60% of the SO2 50%of the mercury over 50% of many acid gases 60%of the arsenic organics, dioxins/furans, and others Sources: NEI Trends Data (2009) and IPM (2010) (SO2, NOX); Proposed toxics rule modeling platform, based on inventory used for 2005 NATA (Hg); Inventory used for 2005 NATA (other toxics) Source: EPA

  23. The New Standards Affect 1,350 Coal and Oil-Fired Units at 525 Power Plants Natural Gas Power Plants are not affected by these new standards Source: EPA Source: National Electric Energy Data System (NEEDS 4.10) (EPA, December 2010)

  24. The Third Issue: Proposed EPA Regulation of Coal Ash

  25. Proposed EPA Regulation of Coal Combustion Residuals (Coal Ash) December 22, 2008 TVA Kingston Power Plant Failure of a Fly Ash Pond Dam Approximately 5.4 Million cubic yards of fly ash sludge was released into a branch of the Emory River Source: Tennessee Department of Health

  26. Coal Combustion Ash Bottom Ash: Falls to the bottom of the furnace Fly Ash: Collected by electrostatic precipitators Source: Georgia Power Company

  27. Typical Coal Ash Handling Facilities Ash Landfill Ash Pond Source: Georgia Power Company

  28. Proposed EPA Options for Regulating Coal Combustion Residuals (Coal Ash) Option #1: Treat it as Hazardous Waste (Expensive!!) Option #2: Treat it as non-hazardous waste and impose new pond design requirements NOTE: Coal combustion Residuals are currently exempt from federal regulation and are only subject to state and local requirements

  29. The Conclusion –Natural Gas Wins

  30. Questions? The Cahaba Lilies in Alabama Photo by Danny Smith

More Related