I was lead author of a journal article recently published in Environmental Science and Technology which evaluates the effect of using low-emission natural gas production practices on the carbon footprint of power generation. We show that existing best practices and technologies fueling state-of-the-art combined cycle gas turbines with carbon capture and storage would have life cycle greenhouse gas emission intensity similar to renewable energy. Our study is based on natural gas production practices that have been deployed at scale in British Columbia, Canada.  We also show how CO2 capture solvent can be temporarily stored to mitigate CO2 emissions associated with start/stop cycles – an important attribute as natural gas power generation will be required to operate more flexibly in the future to support intermittent renewables.

 I anticipate that this work will be of interest to:

• Policymakers and jurisdictional authorities in natural gas producing regions that want to align production regulations with climate change mitigation goals

• Large consumers/utilities and policymakers in natural gas consuming regions that want to mitigate scope 3 (upstream) GHG emissions associated with their natural gas supply

• Upstream oil and gas companies looking to reduce GHG emissions from their operations and/or offer low-emission NG supply as a value-added product for their customers

• Investors interested in building new natural gas power generation with carbon capture to supply low-carbon dispatchable electricity

The full article is available open access: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.4c02933.