Linc Energy Blog

The current political environment encourages that we enter a new age and explore alternative fuels to energize our future.

"Is it a fact -- or have I dreamt it -- that, by means of electricity, the world of matter has
become a great nerve, vibrating thousands of miles in a breathless point of time?"
--Nathaniel Hawthorne

I’ve spent the majority of my professional life selling products to the Natural Gas Industry. There is no secret that I’m committed to natural gas. It is also no secret that as fossil fuels are depleted we have a responsibility to explore safe ways to extract fuels from hard to get places, but also we need to investigate alternative fuels. This is one of the reasons our warehouse and headquarters are energy efficient with sustainable solar power.

The more I looked into alternative fuel, the more confused I became by all the terms commonly used. In my earlier post, Diversification: Renewable and nonrenewable energy  I explained that renewable energy can be replenished in a short period of time. Additionally, renewable energy does not pollute or harm the environment when used. Energy generated from wind power, solar power, hydroelectric power, tidal power, geothermal power and wave power are excellent examples of renewable energy.

Nonrenewable energy is limited and requires millions of years to produce. Fossil fuels like oil, natural gas and coal, are nonrenewable. This type of energy does harm the environment at varying degrees with natural gas producing considerably less carbon dioxide than coal or oil.

Alternative fuel is a designation to describe fuels that are not considered conventional (or nonrenewable). In other words any fuel that is nonconventional, like renewable fuels would be an alternative fuel.

All renewable energy is considered sustainable energy, but not all sustainable energy is renewable. To be considered sustainable, it must meet our current needs and when used it can’t compromise the needs of future generations. Examples of these would be plant material (biomass), wind power, solar power, wave power, tidal power and geothermal power.

While some consider nuclear energy to be sustainable, others argue that the risks associated with the use of this energy, such as accidents and terrorism, strip fission power from this designation.

Another term that seems to be popping up is green energy. Green energy or green power is a label for energy sources which are non-polluting and combat future global warming.

We have entered the age of alternatives. In subsequent posts I will discuss the pros and cons of various sustainable energies, including solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal energy, tidal energy, wave power and others.
 

 

Tags: natural gas, fossil fuel, alternative energy, nonrenewable energy, renewable energy, biomass, hydropower, geothermal, wind, solar, coal or uranium, shale extraction, hydraulic fracking, alternatives, gas extraction, wind power, currents, green, carbon neutral, wind turbine, renewables, alternative energy, nonrenewable energy, renewable energy, sustainable energy, green energy, green power, wind power, solar power, wave power, tidal power and geothermal power, nuclear energy, fission power, fossil fuels, oil, natural gas, coal

With the depletion of our fossil fuels, we are being forced to find new ways to extract natural gas and hydraulic fracking is a technology which has enabled us to extract gas from hard-to-tap shale in many areas of the U.S. including Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, West Virginia, Texas and Louisiana.

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.
-Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

Hydraulic fracking (a/k/a fracing or fracturing) has been used by the oil & gas industry for more than 60 years. While it has been more commonly used to stimulate the production of older producing wells, the technology has evolved and now allows the extraction of natural gas from shale or sand. This new drilling technology makes extracting gas commercially viable in areas we once thought were impossible. This is one of the reasons natural gas was recently touted the “fuel of the future.” It burns 70% cleaner than coal and its costs have come down. Natural gas could be the fuel to bridge us to new renewable energies, but with the recent blowout at the Marcellus Shale formation, drilling has been put on hold and hydraulic fracking is subject to increasing scrutiny.

During hydraulic fracking a fracturing fluid is injected at high pressure into sand or shale in some cases as deep as 10,000 to 13,000 feet below ground. The intent of fracking is to loosen natural gas which has become trapped in tiny bubbles. A deep well is dug and the fracturing fluid is pumped down under high pressure to fracture the shale and let the gas flow back up to the surface. The fracturing fluid contains a proppant, suspended particles to hold the fractures open.

One of the environmental concerns of fracturing is the leak off from the fracturing fluid. Some fluid is loss in permeable rock and can make its way to a water source. Additionally, air and land contamination were among the concerns that arose during the well blowout at the Marcellus Shale on June 3, 2010. During this incident, 35K gallons of fracturing fluid were sprayed in the air and over the landscape.

The concern of course is the actual compounds used in fracturing fluids are somewhat secretive which makes it difficult to assess environmental concerns. The composition of fracturing fluids varies depending on the basin and needs, but can include toxic substances and carcinogens like: benzene, formaldehyde, kerosene, toluene and xylene. (1)

Recently the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission voted to require full disclosure of the hydraulic fracturing fluids used in natural gas exploration. (2) On the federal level, congress is being urged to repeal an exemption in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which would force the drilling companies to fully disclose the chemicals used in their hydraulic fracking.

There is no doubt that we need natural gas as a resource. The answer isn’t to abandon the premise of extracting natural gas from difficult places. But, if we are to continue down this road, don’t you think we owe it to ourselves and our children to do it safely?
 

(1) http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/materials_minerals_pdf/ogdsgeischap5.pdf

(2) http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_069139a4-5b9b-51c3-a599-a38f788e8ff4.html

Tags: drilling, Marcellus Shale, alternatives, fracing, fracturing, hydraulic fracking, natural gas, energy, nonrenewable energy, shale extraction

You don’t have to be a tree hugger to recognize that we need to do things differently. It has become clear that we must look to the future and diversify how we fill our energy needs.

"Not only will atomic power be released, but someday we will harness the rise and fall of the tides and imprison the rays of the sun."  --Thomas Alva Edison

 

Energy is considered renewable when its source can be replenished in a short period of time. Biomass, hydropower, geothermal, wind and solar are examples of renewable energy, and in 1998 they represented 7.4% of US energy. About 93% of the energy used in the United States is from nonrenewable sources, like petroleum, natural gas, coal or uranium. We’ve named these sources as nonrenewable because their resources are limited. Fossils fuels like petroleum, natural gas and coal are formed over millions of years, through chemical reaction from the remains of plants and animals. While we may think these resources are endless, they aren’t and it takes millions of years to produce them.

The simple economic model of supply and demand tells us that as the supply of fossil fuel diminishes, the price of this fuel increases. Without proper diversification into alternative fuels we could set ourselves up for a future energy crisis.

Additionally, it’s no secret that the use of fossil fuels hurt the environment and is linked to the thinning of our ozone layer and global warming. Without exploring alternatives we are promoting climate changes which could lead to unsounded consequences.

It’s clear that as our fossil fuels become depleted, we strive harder to retrieve them which open ourselves to severe, almost unfathomable outcomes:

• We drill the ocean floors and subject ourselves to environmental, ecological and economic devastation.
• We create new technologies to retrieve natural gas from shale and risk polluting our water.
• We build massive natural gas pipelines which rupture and cost lives.

Diversification is no longer a choice - it’s a requirement. While we cannot stop using fossil fuels, we can move forward more cautiously in fossil fuel extraction and expand our sights to alternative and renewable energy.

Let’s become better stewards of the planet.
 

Tags: gulf spill, shale extraction, coal or uranium, petroleum, solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, biomass, renewable energy, nonrenewable energy, alternative energy, fossil fuel, energy, natural gas