Natural Gas & Renewable Energy - Future Energy Sources?
If you’ve lived through the past decade, you are well aware of the growing concern surrounding protecting the environment, and companies restructuring their missions to include green initiatives. Whether you believe in global warming or not, there is no denying that we are in need of clean and renewable energy resources. Greenhouse gas emissions are rapidly on the rise, and as a result, the world is heating up fast—perhaps the reason for frequently occurring natural disasters, such as floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes. While non-renewable energy resources like natural gas are affordable, they are limited by nature and pollute the environment. The development and implementation of renewable resources like solar and wind power is crucial for future energy use. However, natural gas still remains one of the main sources of energy. Is there a way for natural gas and renewable energy to work together?
According to a recent Brattle Group report for the Texas Clean Energy Coalition, the answer is yes. Coalition chairman, and state Senator Kip Averitt, explains that very soon Texas is going to require a considerable amount of new electricity generation, and that the two sources of natural gas and renewable energy could work together on the Texas grid, rather than compete. Texas leads the nation in wind generation, but the state is also the largest producer of natural gas, making the Lone Star State a prime test market for the integration of these two sources of electricity generation.



It takes a surprising amount of energy to keep large buildings operating. Large commercial and residential buildings can consume a huge amount of energy. According to the EPA, US buildings consume about 36% of all energy used and account for 65% of electricity consumption. This translates into a 30% contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, 30% of waste generated, and 30% use of raw materials.
After a long winter, summer is finally here! While most of us are excited to enjoy the warm weather and outdoors, it’s the season of high energy use. As temperatures rise, air conditioners and cooling systems are used more frequently, putting a major demand on utility grids. This can lead to blackouts, brownouts and grid surges.
The summer is now in full swing! If you live up near our headquarters in Buffalo, NY, it means we finally get to change our snow tires and joyfully send the snow scraper back to the trunk where it belongs. For everybody else, kicking back and enjoying the sunshine is pretty rewarding, too.
Energy efficiency reminders seem to be ubiquitous. For just a little hike in price, we can buy energy efficient light bulbs, appliances, cars, and even homes. The constant message of energy efficient living is that we are being kind to the environment and helping to stop global warming. But what’s in it for us?

