We're living through the greatest transition of our lives....
Jay loves working in the energy industry where he excels at the intersection of energy and technology. He believes the world's energy transition to low carbon is not an on/off switch but rather a slow carefully crafted evolution. It will take some decades to complete. Rushing through this transition will result in unnecessary loss of lives which we must avoid at all costs. Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures.
Natural Gas is our bridge to a low carbon future. Why Natural Gas? In order to understand this, we need to look at the how electricity is generated in the U.S. The graph below shows the contribution of each fuel to electricity generation.
One way to interpret this chart is to think of it as a “hand of cards” that we’ve been dealt. As a human race, we know of only these limited ways of creating electricity on a mass scale i.e. via Coal, Natural Gas, Nuclear, and “Others which includes Renewables”. Coal, Nat Gas, & Nuclear are the “big three” and we must play the hand that humanity has been dealt. Our climate problem is really a Physics problem. Anyone who has studied Physics knows that one of the laws of Physics is as follows:
The law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed - only converted from one form of energy to another.
This means that as humans we are limited in how we can create electricity . According to this Physics law:
1. We can “convert” the energy in moving water into electricity (Hydro Power), or
2. We can “convert” the stored heat energy in coal and nat gas to electricity (Thermal Power), or
3. We can “convert” the chemical energy stored in radioactive elements into electricity (Nuclear Energy).
That’s It! Those are the 3 primary ways in which humans derive electricity. If we want to reduce the share of Coal & Nuclear, the share of Natural Gas MUST GO UP in the immediate future! There is no other way to solve our energy crisis as of today. There is no magic bullet!
Coal: has a much higher CO2 content than Natural Gas. Replacing coal-fired generation with natural gas-fired generation is the largest green initiative on the planet. It eliminates the same tonnage of CO2 from the atmosphere as removing all gasoline cars would. Less Coal + More Natural Gas = Less CO2.
Nuclear: Radioactive waste disposal and the potential for accidents has reduced the appetite for nuclear based electricity generation. If the share of nuclear driven electricity must go down in the chart above, then Natural Gas stands ready to displace Nuclear.
Renewables (Wind, Solar, Others): There is a reason why the share of Renewables has remained low over the last 7 decades as shown in the chart above. While these are clearly the long term options with zero carbon content, it is really hard to make them scalable to a point where entire countries can depend on them. It will take some more decades to make them scalable. Battery technology is still nascent and can’t yet store all the electricity the country needs. Thousands of acres of land and sea will be needed to build out solar and wind farms. If and when those investments are successfully accomplished, wind and solar are still unreliable as the wind does not always blow everywhere. Sunshine is not plentiful in many parts of the country. The volatility in wind and solar output can be smoothed out with complementing them with cheap, abundant, reliable, low carbon natural gas.
Natural Gas: Due to its low carbon content, abundance, reliability, and affordability natural gas has unparalleled qualities in helping reduce greenhouse gases. This is why being a supporter of a fossil fuel like natural gas is NOT contradictory to being climate-friendly. Natural gas can also be used to produce Hydrogen affordably.
Jay believes natural gas is a vital human necessity. The share of natural gas as a source of electricity will go up before it goes down over the next few decades. Natural gas is also a crucial input for manufacturing fertilizers which in turn are used for food manufacturing. This makes natural gas one of the most important commodities of our lives. For this reason, he is passionate about creating innovative software that enables the delivery of natural gas to consumers reliably, safely, and timely. He is fortunate and proud to be working with a team of professionals who are turning ambition into action! Jay has pioneered the development of a software called “NatGas Hub” which is a Multi-Pipeline Dashboard for Natural Gas Shippers. It offers out-of-the-box connectivity to 150+ natural gas pipelines.
