Methane Clips: February 6, 2023

Bennet, Hickenlooper To BLM: End Routine Gas Flaring, Venting. According to the Daily Sentinel, “Colorado’s U.S. senators and their New Mexico counterparts are calling on the Bureau of Land Management to follow the lead of the two states by eliminating routine venting and flaring from oil and gas operations on public and tribal lands. U.S. Sens Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, both D-Colorado, and Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, both D-N.M., submitted the comments in a letter to the agency about its proposed rule aimed at reducing the waste of methane through venting, flaring and leaks. ‘Although we support the expressed intent of BLM’s proposed rule to collect royalties from vented and flared gas, the proposal does not go far enough to eliminate waste,’ said the senators in the letter to BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning.” [Daily Sentinel, 2/6/23 (=)]

 

Democrats Sell Their Souls To The Methane Mob. According to CleanTechnica, “Methane, the primary component of so-called natural gas, is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but most people are not as conscious of it as they are of CO2. There’s no Keeling Curve for methane, for instance, so many are are unaware of the environmental damage it does. That suits the lords and master of methane just fine. The message the industry wants to get across is that methane burns cleaner than coal. That’s true, but that’s damning with faint praise. It’s like saying potato chips have less cholesterol than a baked potato slathered with real butter and sour cream. That’s also true, but it doesn’t mean pounding down a bag of chips while sitting on the couch watching TV is good for you. Methane is still a fossil fuel, one that helps to drive up the average temperature of the atmosphere when burned.” [CleanTechnica, 2/4/23 (-)]

 

Difficulty Measuring Methane Slows Plan To Slash Emissions. According to the Associated Press, “The doors of a metal box slide open, and a drone rises over a gas well in Pennsylvania. Its mission: To find leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, so that energy companies can plug the leaks and reduce the emissions that pollute the air. The drone is among an array of instruments whose purpose is to detect leaks of methane, which scientists say causes roughly 30% of manmade global warming. Along with satellites, ground sensors and planes armed with infrared cameras, drones are part of the backbone of a new federal policy to compel energy companies to record and slash their methane emissions. The problem is, no one knows when — or even whether — that will be possible. Technology that might allow for precise methane measurements is still being developed. Under the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, enacted into law last year, companies must start producing precise measurements of their methane emissions next year and face fines if they exceed permissible levels. Yet if no one knows how much methane an energy company has emitted, it’s unclear that any fines could be justified.” [Associated Press, 2/5/23 (=)]

 

North Dakota Loses Millions In State Revenue From Flaring Natural Gas, Study Finds. According to the Trust Project, “North Dakota missed out on $12.6 million in state taxes and federal royalties in 2019 due to natural gas from public lands that wasn’t captured because of waste by flaring or venting, a new study found. North Dakota lost $908,000 in state revenue from state taxes and $11.7 million in state revenue from federal royalties, according to a report by Synapse Energy Economics for the Environmental Defense Fund. In 2019 the volume of wasted gas from federal and tribal lands in North Dakota was 61.3 billion cubic feet, behind only New Mexico, where 62.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas was wasted, according to the report. Since 2019, however, New Mexico has adopted regulations to reduce flaring.” [Trust Project, 2/6/23 (=)]

 

Opinion: Strong Pollution Standards Can Ensure Decarbonization Of The Power Sector. According to The Hill, “President Biden made the ambitious pledge in 2021 to eliminate carbon emissions from power plants by 2035. Clean electricity is essential not only to decarbonize the power sector but to slash emissions from transportation and buildings as these sectors electrify. Achieving Biden’s clean power pledge is the linchpin for meeting the U.S. commitment to cut total emissions at least 50 percent by 2030 and prevent the worst impacts of climate change. The historic investments from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will help the power sector significantly reduce emissions in the next decade. The decade-long tax incentives for clean electricity generation combined with financing to support transitioning out existing fossil fuel assets established by that legislation will help to rapidly expand solar and wind power and make 99 percent of existing coal-fired power plant uneconomic to continue operating according to a recent study by Energy Innovation.” [The Hill, 2/4/23 (+)]