How making natural gas tech better will help 'sustainable future'
[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.]
By Chris Latch
Real Clear Wire
The American energy landscape is undergoing a profound transformation. Public natural gas utilities are embracing innovation and cutting-edge technologies that help detect leaks earlier and minimize emissions, which align with the Biden administration’s commitment to curbing emissions and pursuit of a clean energy future. In this era of transition, regulators must make decisions with a keen understanding of the nuances involved in energy distribution. Encouraging continued investment in natural gas technologies — including leak surveying, damage prevention, methane detection and leak grading and repair — can effectively bridge the gap between our current energy landscape and the more sustainable future we all seek.
Enhancing Leak Surveying
For decades, the resiliency of America’s natural gas distribution pipeline infrastructure has helped support reliable energy delivery for millions of homes and businesses. The nation's natural gas distribution pipeline network continues to grow as the desire for reliable natural gas remains high. To meet this growing energy demand while keeping emissions low, utilities continually seek to improve operational efficiency. Increasing the frequency of leak surveys, a proactive, systematic inspection process that curbs energy waste and mitigates potential accidents, is a critical part of this effort.
Modern technologies, including aerial and vehicle surveys, have aided these efforts. Federal regulators have recognized the value of enhancing leak surveying, with the 2020 Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety (PIPES) Act encouraging the prompt repair of leaks based on comprehensive analyses and prioritization. Early repair also prevents potentially larger challenges that directly affect underserved populations, who rely on the affordability and dependability of natural gas. As a cost-effective, reliable energy option, natural gas helps communities reduce their energy bills and allocate funds to other essential needs. Moving forward, future rulemakings should be similarly rooted in sound scientific analyses and consider the feasibility for all utilities — large and small.
Improving Gas Detection
As we look to the future and advance best practices for the continued safe use of natural gas, burgeoning methane detection technologies will play a pivotal role. Protecting consumer and public safety is an important responsibility for natural gas utilities — and one that we take seriously. Laser detection devices have proven to be highly effective tools for detecting gas, and, over time, this technology helps reduce operating costs, which is especially important for cost-conscious not-for-profit public gas utilities that are owned by their communities.
Middle Tennessee Natural Gas Utility District (MTNG) and Midwest Energy are two public natural gas utilities embracing the latest technology to further bolster their leak detection programs. Supported by grant funding from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization Grant program, MTNG is acquiring infrared laser methane leak detectors and other resources to build on its nationally recognized safety management program.
Midwest Energy, which oversees more than 3,000 miles of gas pipeline across Kansas, is also augmenting its leak survey capabilities by adopting cutting-edge technologies. Handheld laser gas leak detection devices, which are regularly upgraded to meet the latest operation and regulatory requirements in the field, can identify gas leaks at a greater distance from the gas line or meter than ever before. Streamlining the leak survey process, especially in rural areas, is crucial for protecting the safety of utility employees and the families they serve.
Encouraging Leak Grading and Repair
Though no federal regulatory requirements exist, gas utilities have been repairing infrastructure through leak grading for decades in alignment with industry best practices and state regulations. The recent surge in leak detection innovations is revolutionizing the way gas utilities manage their infrastructure, significantly enhancing their ability to grade and repair more promptly and efficiently. This leap in precision enables more efficient resource allocation, allowing utilities to focus on the most critical leaks first, which is crucial for ensuring system safety and reliability. Such prioritization protects communities while streamlining maintenance schedules and improving operational efficiency — ensuring that unnecessary expenditures are not relayed to customers.
Moreover, effective leak management plays a pivotal role in reducing methane emissions, ensuring public safety and maintaining the operational integrity of gas networks. With better leak detection and grading, utilities minimize the risks of accidents, which directly translates to safe and consistent energy delivery and continued customer satisfaction. This is why utilities, like the City of Lawrenceville, continue to invest in innovative infrastructure reinforcements. Their infrastructure repair project aims to keep pace with new standards while reducing methane emissions by an estimated 1,000 metric tons. The integration of advanced leak detection and grading technologies is not just a matter of operational efficiency for gas utilities, but a cornerstone of responsible and sustainable environmental stewardship.
Looking Ahead
I encourage policymakers to pay special attention to how regulations can impact natural gas utilities and consumers’ energy costs. It is essential to recognize the role that investments in the safety of natural gas infrastructure play in ensuring energy reliability, which is why continuing to incentivize and leverage innovative technologies will foster a future where natural gas remains a safe, cost-effective, and efficient energy choice for communities nationwide.
Chris Latch is a Professional Engineer, Chairman of the American Public Gas Association’s Board of Directors & Assistant General Manager for the City of Corinth Gas & Water Department.
IMPORTANT NOTE TO WND READERS: America – long the freest, most prosperous, powerful, altruistic and Christian nation on earth – is on the brink of destruction. Every decent and aware American adult knows this. The evidence is everywhere.
Democrat politicians today overwhelmingly favor late-term abortion up to the very moment of birth – formerly known as "infanticide." They encourage children too young to drive or vote to have their breasts and/or sex organs amputated in pursuit of a "gender transition" that is both delusional and impossible, and which leads to staggering rates of depression and suicide. They have not just allowed, but ENGINEERED, a full-scale foreign invasion of America across her southern border.
Their standard bearer, President Joe Biden – a senile, pathologically dishonest and epically corrupt career political hack – is destroying America's economy, energy sector, military, law enforcement, election integrity, national security, Constitution and overall national wellbeing as rapidly as possible. At the same time, Team Biden demonizes and, increasingly, IMPRISONS critics as "violent extremists," "domestic terrorists," "white supremacists" and "insurrectionists." Indeed, they're currently engaged in an obviously corrupt multi-front legal war against Biden's chief political rival, Donald J. Trump, in an attempt to send the 45th president of the United States to prison for the rest of his life.
None of this constitutes "politics" in any conventional or traditional American sense. Rather, it is all darkly spiritual. The greatest nation on earth is in the throes of a full-blown spiritual war between good and evil.
The big question, then, is WHAT CAN BE DONE TO SAVE AMERICA? Fortunately, real answers and uncommon wisdom are showcased in the December issue of WND's critically acclaimed monthly Whistleblower magazine, "CAN AMERICA BE SAVED? The world's freest, most Christian nation is on the brink of destruction."
In this very special issue, readers will experience the best and deepest thoughts and strategies on how to restore America to her former goodness and greatness, from some of the nation's most respected analysts – everyone from Tucker Carlson to Dennis Prager to Victor Davis Hanson to Newt Gingrich and many more.
WHISTLEBLOWER is available in both the popular print edition and a state-of-the-art digital version, either single issues or discounted annual subscriptions.
For 25 years, WND has boldly brought you the news that really matters. If you appreciate our Christian journalists and their uniquely truthful reporting and analysis, please help us by becoming a WND Insider!
SUPPORT TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM. MAKE A DONATION TO THE NONPROFIT WND NEWS CENTER. THANK YOU!
The post How making natural gas tech better will help 'sustainable future' appeared first on WND.