Natural Gas Market Overview
Supply and Demand Issues
Natural gas prices have risen sharply in recent years. Why? Broadly speaking, natural gas prices have increased because of the interaction of a number of factors:
- Strong growth in demand.
- Competing government policies that encourage use of natural gas but discourage new supplies by limiting access and development of domestic natural gas resources.
- The lack of infrastructure necessary to bring more natural gas to market.
- The declining productivity of older fields.
Sharp increases in natural gas prices can hurt consumers. They have no choice but to pay the bill because households must be heated and cooled, and there must be a source of heat for cooking.
The only way to lower natural gas costs is to increase supplies and/or lower demand. Because demand over the next two decades is expected to rise, increasing supply is essential to keep our economy growing.
Can supply be increased? The steady increase in the number of vehicles on our roads and the number of miles driven are pushing an ever increasing demand for oil imports. Highway transportation alone is responsible for more than half the nation’s oil demand. At the same time, worldwide oil reserves, which are often located in volatile countries, leave the United States vulnerable to disruptions in oil supply. The steady increase in vehicles also contributes to degrading air quality in many of our cities and to increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Unlike oil, there is currently no quick way to increase imports of natural gas from abroad when production does not meet demand. There are known reserves throughout North America – both onshore and off the east, west and Gulf coasts. Significant untapped sources are in the Mountain West. Much of that gas is off limits because of concerns about the impact on the land and the environment.
Can FGI help the supply to be increased? YES. FGI can help cost effectively increase domestic energy supplies of natural gas while protecting the land and the environment. Using our patented technology, FGI can tap landfill gas methane and stranded natural gas fields with high CO2 levels.
Why Use Natural Gas as a Fuel?
It's Clean: With the exception of hydrogen itself, natural gas (NG) has the highest hydrogen content of any fuel. NGVs produce approx. 93 - 95% less emissions than similar petroleum fueled vehicles. (source: EIA)
It's Domestic: Every natural gas vehicle (NGV) on the road today results in the avoidance of 100% of the petroleum that vehicle would otherwise use, reducing our dependence on imported petroleum.
Natural Gas is Here Now: With the hydrogen highway at least 15 - 20 years away for the general public, natural gas is the cleanest fuel available today.
It's an on-ramp to the hydrogen highway: Hydrogen-rich CNG and hydrogen are both gaseous fuels, requiring many of the same infrastructure changes. The expansion of today's CNG fueling infrastructure makes economic sense for the long run since CNG stations can easily be converted to hydrogen fueling stations.
It's Safe: Lighter-than-air compressed natural gas is nontoxic and disperses quickly. It has a higher ignition temperature than diesel fuel or gasoline, reducing the chances of accidental ignition. Chances are you're using natural gas in your home today – to power your cooktop, operate your clothes dryer, or to fuel your hot water heater.
It's Cheaper: With lowered maintenance costs compare to diesel and a lower price on a gasoline gallon equivalent basis, natural gas vehicle (NGV) operators have reduced fuel costs. FirmGreen's gCNG™ price is even lower than non-renewable CNG!
It's increasingly convenient: California and Arizona are rapidly developing a CNG fueling infrastructure. For homeowners, a home-refueling appliance called Phill, can be installed to your existing home gas line. With the Phill, NGV owners refuel at home rather than having to stop at a gas station.
Find Out About Federal Tax Incentives
Click here for an overview of incentives that are currently available (PDF opens in new window)
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