The Role of Natural Gas Today and Tomorrow

8/7/2019 The Role of Natural Gas Today and Tomorrow

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Canadian Natural Gas

The Role of Natural Gas Today and Tomorrow


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The Role of Natural GasToday and Tomorrow

The new abundance of natural gas supply provides a reliable source of affordable, efcient energyn

for a wide range of industrial processes, particularly those requiring thermal heat or steam. Thelower emissions of natural gas, and the ability to install combined heat and power technologyprovide environmental benets.

Canadian natural gas is the smart choice for a variety of space and water heating (and cooling)n

applications, and the highly efcient technology available today can be right sized to meet theneeds of any building.The ability to efciently generate electricity using natural gas pro provides opportunities forn

system planners to make power available where and when it is needed. Natural gas providesenvironmental benets compared with other thermal generation sources and its on-offavailability make it a good partner for renewable generation such as wind and solar.For heavy duty transport vehicles and for urban eet vehicles, using natural gas as a fuel cann

provide over-life cost benets for eet owners, along with environmental benets. Canadian

companies are global leaders in the development and deployment of todays natural gas vehicletechnologies.


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Canadian Natural Gas is helpingCanadians meet their environmentalobjectives while contributing toeconomic growth.

A modern steel mill in Hamilton, Ontario; a lively hockey arena in Vancouver; a bustling shopping mallin Calgary; a cozy home in Montreal; and a high-technology hospital in Halifax all have something incommon. They can benet from clean, efcient, abundant natural gas.

Across the country, Canadian Natural Gas is helping Canadians meet their environmental objectiveswhile contributing to economic growth.

Using natural gas has many benets:

Choosing natural gas for space, water and process heating in the residential, commercial andn

industrial sectors can decrease the demand for electricity generation. This can improve theoverall efciency of energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Choosing natural gas as a transportation fuel in heavy duty highway truck and urban eetn

applications can reduce costs over the full life of the vehicle as well as decrease vehicleemissions.Choosing the clean burning, multi-use capability of natural gas for electricity generation cann

maximize the energy potential of gas, using primary energy for heat and generating electricityat the same time. New combined heat/power systems are already benetting many industriesand are now emerging in new home systems.

Canadian Natural Gas is not a solution to every energy challenge, but when it is used withtechnologies that take full advantage of the unique attributes of natural gas, it is clearly the smartchoice.

Canadian Natural Gas is Smart Energy

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Space Cooling4% Water Heat14%

Appliances + Auxiliarly Equip.18% Space Heat57%

Lighting7%

Residential & Commercial Energy by end use

Other2% Wood4%

Heating Oil4% Electricity42%

Heavy Fuel2%

Residential & Commercial Energy Use by fuel type

Natural Gas46%

TODAY

The primary residential andcommercial use of energy isfor space and water heating.Natural gas is uniquely suitedfor smaller scale applicationsin residential and commercialenvironments. The lowemissions, instant heatcharacteristics, and on-demandavailability of natural gas alreadymake it a preferred choice forresidential and commercialenergy needs wherever it isavailable to consumers.

Canadas residential andcommercial sectors account for47 per cent of Canadian end-use natural gas consumption.In Ontario over 3 millionhomes and businesses receivenatural gas service, while gascompanies in Alberta and British

Columbia each serve over onemillion locations.

Consumers also choosenatural gas for appliancessuch as stoves, barbecuesor clothes dryers, for spacecooling, and even for elegantoutdoor lighting. Direct useof natural gas can signicantlyreduce electricity generationrequirements and ease the peakload demand for electric power.

Energy efciency is important toCanadians, and over time therehas been increasingly efcientuse of natural gas. Since1990, the number of houses inCanada has increased by 27 percent and they are 34 per centlarger. At the same time spaceheating intensity and water

heating intensity declinedapproximately 20 per cent(gure 3). In roughly the sameperiod, residential use of naturalgas has declined 11 per centsince the early 1990s. Thischange has been driven byincreasingly efcient natural gasuse.

Similar energy efciencygains have been made in thecommercial and institutionalsector. From 1990 to 2007,energy intensity in this sectorin Canada has improved by 9per cent. Every new generationof commercial building bringsgreater improvements andallows better space heatingefciency.

Smart Energy for Residential & Commercial Use

Nearly half of all residential and commercial energy end use in Canada is providedby natural gas. Source: NRCan End Use Database


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0

30

60

90

120

150

Residential Natural Gas Use per customer

1990-2007

Appliances Water Heating Space Heating

G i g a

j o u

l e s

/ y e a r

The commercial and institutionalsector is particularly well-positioned to benet fromnatural gas energy technologiesat a scale between the smallerresidential and the largerindustrial consumer. Integratedsystems can take advantage ofhigh-efciency natural gas, suchas combined heat and powersystems. When these are pairedwith modern building standards,energy efciency can be fullyleveraged. One example is thenew Manitoba Hydro Place inWinnipeg. This 22-storey ofcebuilding blends passive solarsystems with geothermal heatexchangers and eight high-

efciency natural gas boilersto deliver year-round comfortin Manitobas extreme climate.The building is highly energyefcient, , using less than onequarter the total energy used inan average commercial buildingin Manitoba.

Natural gas capabilities willcontinue to make it an idealchoice either alone or partneredwith other energy sources forspace heating, water heating,cooking, and drying applicationsand in hybrid applications.Natural gas is well-suited topair with renewable fuels. Forexample, solar energy is an

excellent complement to gas-red hot water heating.Canadian residential naturalgas consumers will continue toreach new heights in efciency.A national minimum energyperformance standard is alreadyin place, requiring all gasfurnaces manufactured afterDecember 31, 2009 to have aminimum fuel efciency of 90per cent. This new regulationis part of the ongoing effortto address climate changeand promote gains in energyefciency resulting in costsavings for Canadians.

SMART ENERGY FOR THE FUTURE

Canadian lifestyles are increasingly energy efcient. While not illustrated here,commercial energy efciency is following the same trend.

Source: NRCan End Use Database

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200

400

600

800

1000

1200

T e r a

j o u

l e s

Canadian Industrial Natural Gas Trends

Upstream MiningOther Manufacturing Pulp/Wood/PaperOil/Gas Rening

Motors/Vehicles MiningMetal Food

Construction Chemicals

1990-2007

Source: NRCan, End Use Database

TODAY

Natural gas has many importantindustrial uses. It is a feedstockfor chemical processes, a fuelfor process heat applications, asource for hydrogen productionthrough steam reformation,and an important fuel for powergeneration. The consistentheat offered by natural gascombustion, the absence ofoils and waxes, the negligiblesulphur content, the zero ashcontent, and the negligibleparticulates also make it idealfor use in industrial kilns andblast furnaces.

The industrial sector in Canadaaccounts for 40 percentof Canadian natural gasconsumption. Industrial gasdemand is centred most heavilyin Ontario and Alberta. Thissector is actively focused onimproving energy efciency.For example, members of theCanadian Industry Program forEnergy Conversion (CIPEC) --an organization of companiescontributing 28% of CanadasGDP and employing

3.5 million workers -- havereduced their combined energyintensity nearly 12 percentbetween 1990 and 2007through investments in newtechnologies, equipment andprocesses (CIPEC AnnualReport 2009). In 2007 alone,improved energy efciencyby CIPEC members enabledCanadian industry to avoid $2.1billion in purchased energy enough energy to heat almost2.7 million Canadian householdsfor one year.

Of course, some reductions innatural gas consumption canbe linked to declining NorthAmerican natural gas demand

in the pulp, paper and forestand chemical sectors (amongothers) due to both the recentglobal economic recession andthe closure of energy intensiveplants. However these declineshave been more than offsetby an increase in natural gasdemand in the upstream miningsector especially in the Albertaoil sands (shown in Figure 5)where natural gas is used in theoil recovery process includingsteam generation for in siturecovery of bitumen. Reduceddomestic demand also providesadditional opportunities toexplore natural gas exportmarkets.

Smart Energy for Industrial Use

Fact:The industrial sectorin Canada accountsfor 40 percent ofCanadian natural

gas consumption.


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Industrys sizeable energy needs mean that theincreased energy efciency available through the useof natural gas can decrease their total energy use, cutcosts, and improve their competitiveness.


An increase in the supply ofaffordable natural gas canhelp promote economicgrowth in the industrial sector.Natural gas will continueto be a vital industrial fuelbecause of its adaptability,cleanliness, low greenhousegas emissions and highreliability. The incorporationof appropriate heat recoverytechnology means that naturalgas efciency will improve,boosting the cost-effectiveness

of process heat or mechanicalpower. Expected innovationsin ultra high-efciency boilerswith very small nitrogen oxide(NOx) emissions and newburner designs with integratedheat recovery devices will alsosubstantially increase the overallefciency of natural gas use inhigh-temperature applications.

The considerable benetsnatural gas can offer as a fuelfor distributed power generation

in combined heat and power(CHP) and combined coolingand power (CCHP) applicationswill also make gas a compellingchoice for industrial use.Industrys sizable energy needs,particularly for process heatand electricity, mean that theincreased energy efciencyavailable through the use ofnatural gas can decrease theirtotal energy use, cut costs, andimprove their competitiveness.

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1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

B i l l i o n c u

b i c f e e

t / y e a r

Source: Statistics Canada, EIA, CGA

Natural Gas Use In Power Generation

1997-2007

Canada United States

TODAY

Natural gas for power accountsfor 13 per cent of Canadiangas demand, with gas powergeneration facilities located inmost provinces. Natural gasconsumption in the powergeneration sector has increasedby 70 per cent over the twelve-year period from 1997 to 2009.This increase is due to the factthat the attributes of naturalgas make it the right choice formeeting electricity needs at thesame time as addressing thepublic policy objectives of many

jurisdictions.

The specic abilities andcharacteristics of natural gas forpower generation include:

relatively quick plantn

construction times,low capital costs, relative ton

other forms of generation,scalable size to allow gas-n

red generation plants tomeet demand,compact physical plantn

footprint,

highly efcient generationn

across a broad scale of nalpower output capacity,low-pollutants prole uponn

combustion,ability to locate plants closen

to thermal loads to benetfrom combined heat andpower (CHP) efciency inintegrated energy systems,quick on-off capabilityn

to meet peak load orto backstop intermittentrenewable power sources.

Smart Energy for Power Generation


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Research and development are leading toincreasingly efcient reciprocating enginesand gas turbines for electricity generation thatwill contribute to reduced emissions.


The abundance, reliabilityand exibility of natural gasmake it a good choice to playa signicant role in the futureelectricity mix. Researchand development are leadingto increasingly efcientreciprocating engines and gasturbines for electric generationthat will contribute to reducedemissions. Increasingly, naturalgas will be directly combustedin internal combustion enginesand gas turbines that deliver

tri-generation heat inwinter, cold in summer, andsimultaneous turbine power toproduce electricity year round.

The ability to right size naturalgas red power generationfor the application withoutsignicant losses of efciencymeans that natural gas-reddistributed generation (DG)will become more and moreattractive. A well-planned CHPfacility uses the heat generated

from combustion in variousapplications such as waterheating, steam generation,drying, heating, cleaning, orother process needs as well asthe associated turbine power togenerate electricity for lightingand electronics. A CHP systemtoday captures up to 80% ofthe energy from the natural gasfuel, an efciency level that isexpected to increase.

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Canadian companies are global leadersin the development and manufacture of naturalgas vehicle and station technologies.

TODAY

Natural gas use in transportationaccounts for less than 1 percent of total Canadian naturalgas demand, but naturalgas is increasingly seen asan abundant, cost-effective,lower carbon fuel that can beput to better use to reducethe growth in emissions fromCanadas transportation sector,particularly emissions fromurban eets and heavy dutytransport trucks. A key challengeto growth is the need for fuelinfrastructure for these vehicles.Compressed natural gas (CNG)is a good choice for urban eetsthat return to base for refuelling,such as transit buses, waste

collection trucks, or municipalservice vehicles. Heavy dutytransport trucks can run on CNGfor specialized applications suchas moving containers at ports,while the range of natural gastrucks could be extended byoffering liqueed natural gas(LNG) at refuelling stationsalong designated, high-densitytransportation corridors.

Canadian companies are globalleaders in the developmentand manufacture of naturalgas vehicle and stationtechnologies. British Columbia-based Westport Innovationsand Cummins Westport supply

all of the heavy natural gasengines that are integratedinto thousands of trucks andbuses produced by morethan 15 original equipmentmanufacturers in NorthAmerica. IMW Industriesmanufactures natural gasrefuelling stations which areexported to more than 20countries around the world.IMW was recently recognizedas British Columbias Exporterof the Year. Powertech Labs isa global leader in testing andcertifying high pressure fuelstorage cylinders in additionto providing leadership in thedevelopment of industry codes

Smart Energy for Transportation


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Natural gas vehicles typicallyhave 20-25% lower GHG emissions than gasoline- or diesel-poweredvehicles.

and standards.

Natural gas is a signicantlyless carbon-intensive fuelthan other hydrocarbons. Lesscarbon means lower GHGemissions based not only onvehicle operation, but also onnatural gas production andtransmission to market viapipeline. On a well-to-wheels ortotal lifecycle basis, natural gasvehicles typically have 20-25%lower GHG emissions thangasoline- or diesel-poweredvehicles.

Medium- and heavy-dutyn

natural gas trucks and busesprovide an estimated 20%reduction in GHG emissions.In addition, heavy naturalgas engines are quieter thandiesel engines, a benetfor noise reduction at thecommunity level.A typical transit busn

operating on natural gasproduces 20 tonnes lessof GHG emissions per yearwhile offering comparablepower and performance to adiesel transit bus.A taxi fuelled withn

natural gas produces, onaverage, 7 tonnes less ofGHG emissions per yearcompared with its gasolinecounterpart. Fuel costs perkilometre are also reducedby using natural gas.

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Evaporative Emissions Lower by 100%VOC Lower by 83%CO Lower by 72%SOx Lower by 60%CO2-e Lower by 21%Particulate Matter Lower by 14%NOx Lower by 17%

* Full cycle emissions wellhead to wheels Source: NRCan GHGenius model


In the context of the overalltransportation sector, naturalgas ts best in return-to-baseeet and regional corridorapplications where the cost ofinfrastructure can be minimized.It is within these areas thatmost of the growth in the useof natural gas as transportationfuel has taken place in the U.S.market. High infrastructurecosts and a lack of factory-directnatural gas passenger vehiclesmean that natural gas is notcurrently a mainstream optionfor individual consumers.

However, there are tangiblebenets related to encouraginginfrastructure investment for theuse of natural gas in medium-and heavy-duty vehicles thatoperate in regional corridorsor in return-to-base mode.Such investment would reducecarbon emissions from thetransportation sector, which isone of the largest sources of

carbon emissions in Canada.For larger eets, natural gascan be competitive in termsof combined operating costsand recovery of capital over thefull life of the vehicle. Highwaytractor-trailers operating onliqueed or compressed naturalgas reduce carbon emissionsand have lower operatingcosts per kilometre. Truckingeets can gain an economicadvantage while offering theircustomers a greener service.

Natural gas vehicles canoperate on either fossil gasor renewable natural gasproduced by upgrading biogasfrom waste sources such aslandll gas or biogas fromanaerobic digesters. The use ofrenewable natural gas providesa further reduction in lifecyclecarbon emissions with 85 to90 per cent less carbon ona lifecycle basis than eitherdiesel- or gasoline-powered

vehicles. Fleets that investin natural gas vehicles todaywill be able to reduce theircarbon emissions further whengreen or renewable naturalgas is available in the market inCanada.

As an important rst step toconsider the use of naturalgas in the transportationsector, the Canadian federalgovernment led by NaturalResources Canada ispartnering with a broad rangeof stakeholders to developa deployment roadmap fornatural gas use in transportationin Canada. This work aims toidentify and address barriersto market development aswell as ensuring appropriateareas of focus and extensiveconsideration of end user needsin regards to natural gas as atransportation fuel.

Natural Gas Vehicle Emissions*As compared to gasoline, g/km


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Natural gas is the smart fuel choice formany applications and it will be a foundationof our future energy mix.

Canadian natural gas isversatile, abundant, affordableand reliable. Natural gas is therewhen customers want it, fromthe largest generating station tothe most compact downtowncondo.

When home and businessowners choose natural gas,they are choosing the efciency,exibility and environmentalbenets that natural gasdelivers. Increasingly, extremelyhigh-efciency systems willharness the energy of naturalgas to produce both heat andpower for individual institutions,businesses, and for entirecommunities. This efciency

is also used by a range ofindustries for modern plantdesigns that take advantageof primary and waste energyto provide heat, steam andpower. The same advantagesof natural gas make it a goodchoice for efcient powergeneration, particularly whenreliable electricity is needed tobackstop intermittent renewablepower sources such as windturbines. Choosing natural gascan reduce air emissions, andimprovements in air quality willbe evident when natural gas isused more extensively to fuellong-haul heavy transportationand for urban, return-to-baseeets.

A diversity of fuels will berequired to meet NorthAmericas energy needs. Itsimportant that energy providersmake the right fuel available tothe market in the right place atthe right time. Natural gas isthe smart fuel choice for manyapplications and it will be afoundation for our future energymix.

For more information:

Paula Dunlop,Director, Communications,Canadian Gas Association613-748-0057, ext [email protected]

Right Fuel, Right Place, Right Time

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2010 Canadian Natural Gas.

Canadian Natural Gas is a made-in-Canada advocacy project sponsored by the following associations:

Canadian Energy Pipeline AssociationAssociation canadienne de pipelines dnergie

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The Role of Natural Gas Today and Tomorrow