We have come to rely upon the commodity to meet our most basic human needs of heat and light. As a cheap, readily available fuel source, it will continue to play a vital role in the United States’ economic future.
As our society grows more socially conscious, there has been a major push for businesses to take responsibility for their environmental impact and make necessary adjustments to reduce their carbon footprint. Through this effort to become more socially responsible, many concerns about natural gas have been called into question.
Natural gas as an energy source is very polarizing, it has been regarded as the dirty ‘clean fuel’, while also being thought of as the clean ‘dirty fuel’ by others. Although many people still regard natural gas as the fuel of the future that can bridge the gap between dirty fuel and complete 100% renewable energy, others believe the impact of natural gas on our environment is still a significant threat.
While natural gas is a cleaner alternative to coal and oil, it is still a fossil fuel. Which means that it still contributes to climate change when burned. Therefore, some feel that it is not a viable solution, and more needs to be done to reduce emissions and achieve 100% clean and green generation overnight.
Hypothetically, if the electric grid were to shift to using 100% renewable energy overnight, there would be many issues including a lack of supply, increased prices, and higher exposures to outages with decreased levels of resiliency. It is simply impossible to do quickly while running the energy grid effectively.
Since natural gas is the largest resource in our fuel mix for electric generation, it will continue to play an extremely critical role to meet the country’s energy needs. That is until we produce the technology that will allow us to generate enough energy to meet the grid’s demand, that also does not contribute to climate change. Experts predict that natural gas will continue to remain the primary fuel source well into 2040.
It is highly recommended that energy consumers stay informed about market conditions and keep up to date on other factors that affect the fuel generation mix, which in turn has a significant impact on energy prices.
Staying informed is beneficial, specifically, to commercial and industrial businesses and to those who use a great deal of energy.
Being aware of market conditions allows consumers to develop purchasing strategies that will meet their risk tolerance and plan optimal contract term lengths. In doing so, it is important to understand how and when companies consume natural gas in the US during the day and throughout the year. Being educated on this information allows an energy buyer to optimize a natural gas purchasing strategy.
Facility managers and business owners who do not have the resource or time to keep up to date often hire an energy broker to professionally manage their energy portfolio.