Southern African Natural Gas Advisory Service Service

Natural gas and renewable energy

In recent years with the increased use of renewable energy and many countries striving to achieve low carbon economies an important associated role for natural gas is emerging. Since natural gas is the least environmentally invasive of fossil fuels and due to its clean and highly efficient burning characteristics, natural gas is being used increasingly to offset some of the inherent limitations of certain renewable energy sources. Such mixed energy provision is proving to be highly advantageous when effectively integrating wind, wave and certain other types of renewable energy especially in terms of producing and supplying electricity.

Natural gas electricity generating plant can be fired up very quickly, unlike nuclear and large coal fired power stations. With such controllability, flexibility and responsiveness natural gas energy plant is now being integrated as part of major renewable electricity generation schemes.

Wind power cannot be readily stored for example in times of low electricity demand and there are times when there is no wind to drive wind turbines at heavy periods of electricity demand. In contrast, natural gas can be cost effectively stored and gas generating plant can be used almost instantly to provide power to the electricity grid when the wind stops blowing. Natural gas electricity generation plant is also available in a variety of sizes to suit almost any type of electricity demand situation. By smoothing out the inevitable imbalances that exist between supply and demand when using wind power, natural gas can make such renewable energy schemes truly practical and viable.

Similar vagaries exist with wave and solar power where natural gas can also make a significant contribution. There are also seasonal variations in weather patterns when electricity demand is high in winter in certain countries when solar energy is more irregular. In hot climates the heavy demand for air conditioning and cooling often during a 24 hour cycle is also readily augmented by natural gas during hours of darkness or when there is little wind.   

The combined role for natural gas when used with renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions is set to increase in the future as renewable energy plant expands across the world. It is estimated that wind and solar power plant is now growing at an estimated 30 to 40% per year. Although it is from a small base, some countries are already deploying significant quantities of renewable power generating plant. In Denmark some 20% of electricity generation is by wind and certain parts of Germany as much as 30% and these trends are likely to continue.

This combined energy supply opportunity of gas and renewable energy working together in harmony, is also driving a range of technical developments within the natural gas supply industry to relentlessly drive down the environmental impacts that remain with natural gas, however minimal they may be. Some experts in the field of low carbon energy provision are even suggesting that the only way mankind will ever be able to achieve low carbon economies in the foreseeable future by replacing coal and oil will be by combining renewable energy systems with the benefits of natural gas to augment the inherent variability of many of natures natural energy supplies.