Natural Gas and Resilient Pathways to Carbon Neutrality Intermountain Gas is proud to join the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Idaho Chapter as a fuel distribution company with resources to support the AIA’s journey towards carbon neutrality by 2030. Our shared values with AIA start with a commitment to being a catalyst for change. That means holding ourselves to the highest standards as we explore what it means to be a gas delivery company at a time when GHG emissions reductions have never been more important. The path to carbon neutrality runs through the pipelines of gas suppliers like Intermountain. We serve an essential role in decarbonization efforts. In fact, pathways to reducing GHG emissions have been long pursued by our industry. Methane emissions rates associated with natural gas production have declined continuously since 1990 and today are just 1%1. Natural gas distribution systems likewise emit less than 0.1% of produced natural gas annually, decreasing emissions 73% between 1990 and 2017 even as our industry experienced a 50% increase in natural gas production.2 Recent analysis performed on behalf of Oregon’s Rural Gas Service by Guidehouse has indicated that a decarbonization pathway leveraging the use of gas pipelines and low carbon gaseous fuels alongside other decarbonization strategies, can result in cost-effective GHG reductions and deeper decarbonization, as well as increased energy reliability and resource adequacy.3 Research from the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) has likewise demonstrated that decarbonization pathways inclusive of natural gas can offer appreciable CO2e emissions reductions with lower costs to consumers and society.4 This places our industry at a strong starting point to support the decarbonization goals of our communities, while sustaining the energy system as more intermittent fuels, such as solar and wind energy, come on to the grid. However, in order to maintain a continued mix of fuels to heat and power today’s modern buildings, it’s essential that the fuels and technologies are paired together in ways that maximize the value they bring to end users. This can be achieved through a twofold strategy of reducing the carbon intensity of the fuels we depend on and increasing the efficiency of the equipment and buildings that use them. Intermountain sees such convergence of energy and building science as having invaluable benefit for the climate we all share. AIA members are part of an essential partnership that can maximize efficiencies both at the energy source, as well as at the site where it’s utilized. Decarbonizing Fuels There’s a revolution taking place in how energy is being sourced across the wires and pipelines that bring heat and energy to our homes and businesses. Just as the electric sector is increasing investments in wind turbines and solar panels to meet the needs of a low carbon future, so too is the gas sector investing in decarbonized innovations such as renewable natural gas and hydrogen. Direct use gaseous fuels are the most efficient application of this energy source in homes and buildings and avoids line losses associated with the use of gas to generate electricity. The efficiency benefits of direct use can be further maximized through the strategic inclusion of low carbon fuels into the pipeline. Gas infrastructure, much like electric wires, are a highway through which multiple energy sources can be transported to end users. The pairing of renewable with traditional fuel sources within our gas pipeline is an essential step to reducing GHG emissions while simultaneously reducing the risk of brownouts associated with intermittent renewable resources. While some technologies, such as hydrogen, are still emerging, a broad coalition of energy companies and efficiency organizations are working together to support this transformation. In January 2021, the Electric Power Research Institute and GTI partnered together on a five-year endeavor called the Low-Carbon Resources Initiative (LCRI)5. The initiative focuses on the large-scale deployment of low-carbon electric generation technologies and low carbon energy sources such as hydrogen, bioenergy, and renewable natural gas (RNG). These tools will help enable affordable pathways to economy-wide decarbonization. Intermountain is currently investing 18 AIA IDAHO ARCHITECTURE | 2022-23 | aiaidaho.com
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