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Illinois Future of Gas: Alternative Fuels Meeting – January 13, 2025

By: Scott Allen, Energy Policy Specialist
Alternative fuels was the theme of the eighth Future of Gas workshop.  Advocates often refer to alternative fuels and decarbonization technologies (like so-called “renewable” natural gas, hydrogen and carbon capture connected to coal plants) as “false solutions” because they fail to truly deliver the clean and affordable promises made by the entities that market them. That’s a fair characterization, but after hearing the presenters during this workshop, I have a new term for this industry: “commodifying pollution.” That phrase probably hints at my bias (but I’ve never claimed to be unbiased). However, I am open to being convinced otherwise. I’ll be all for  alternative fuels and carbon mitigation technologies–IF they turn out to be viable, healthy and affordable.   

In this workshop, we heard from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI); GTI Energy (formerly known as the Gas Technology Institute); The Roanoke Gas Company; Green Era Chicago and Nicor Gas/Southern Company.

EPRI’s presenter gave an analysis of the various pathways to decarbonization via alternative fuels. The presentation was quite dense and cross-referenced. It compared, contrasted and qualified such a wide range of scenarios in such specificity that untangling it would take several pages, so I’ll skip to the takeaway points: “bioenergy” and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) conceptually are important, but as a decarbonization strategy, their potential is limited. There are cost-usefulness tradeoffs for various types of fuels and technologies depending on the sector and application. 

GTI Energy’s presentation discussed two alternative fuels: hydrogen and “renewable natural gas,” or RNG. GTI went further than EPRI to say that the benefits of RNG and hydrogen are well known, and that both fuels are tested, ready-made alternatives to methane gas. It’s important to point out that RNG is primarily methane, and in smaller quantities, carbon dioxide.  In the same way that advertisers branded methane extracted from the earth as “natural,” they’ve started calling methane that occurs via decomposition of organic matter “renewable.”  Likewise, when people in the energy industry refer to hydrogen, they are usually talking about the production of hydrogen, and then using that hydrogen as fuel in a number of industrial, commercial, transportation, and even residential applications.  

Hydrogen is appealing, at first, because it only exhausts water vapor. Nothing wrong with that, but the important questions for any application of hydrogen are: How is it produced? How efficient is it? Is it cost effective?” 

As far as I can tell, there aren’t any clear answers to those questions. It’s also not clear which method of production is preferred by the fossil fuel industry. They point out that hydrogen can be produced using renewable energy, but also that it can be produced using nuclear, gas and coal energy. I suppose they estimate that the greenhouse gas emissions from production would be offset by the energy density of the hydrogen used as a fuel. I can’t say whether or not this is true, or in which applications it may or may not be true, but neither can anybody else it seems.  

As always, I ask you to watch the replay of the workshop, and browse the materials GTI and EPRI made available–see if you can work out what they conclude. I’m not qualified to judge the technical, chemical or mathematical claims the presenters made, but I am able to glean this: 

Hydrogen and RNG may be suitable replacements for extracted methane gas in certain scenarios, but their potential to be blended and sent through the gas distribution system will only encourage the production of waste gas, and will do nothing to stop endless utility infrastructure expansion. Even more, their potential to be blended and sent through the gas distribution system remains questionable.  

The topic of alternative fuels ties nicely into the ninth workshop which will discuss how to deal with the worst effects of those fuels and additional decarbonization technologies. Stay tuned for more updates and Check out our ICC Future of Gas page for more information.

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