Posted on 11/02/2022 12:33:11 PM PDT by karpov
As California expands its efforts to phase out natural-gas use in homes, the nation’s largest gas utility is trying to reinvent itself for a future in which far fewer customers use its core service.
Southern California Gas Co., a unit of Sempra, is studying how to repurpose its system—and handle the costs of doing so—as the state works to ban the sale of gas furnaces and water heaters starting in 2030. The state’s initiatives are the latest in a series of measures aimed at reducing future gas use to address climate-change concerns. Already, about 50 California cities and towns have regulations in place to ban or limit gas hookups in new buildings.
SoCalGas faces an acute challenge in transforming its business away from natural gas, one that will require billions of dollars to build new pipelines and reuse or retire existing ones. Unlike California’s other large utilities, PG&E Corp. and Sempra’s San Diego Gas & Electric Co., SoCalGas doesn’t have an electricity business and relies entirely on its gas system for revenue.
The utility, which serves 21.8 million customers primarily in Southern California, said it envisions overhauling much of its system to transport what is known as green hydrogen, an energy source that doesn’t emit carbon when burned. As more homes and businesses install electric heaters and appliances, the company anticipates growing its industrial customer base by delivering hydrogen for use in electricity generation, heavy transportation and other carbon-intensive processes.
“Our system continues to be essential and used, but it gets used in different ways,” said Maryam Brown, the company’s president. “The appliances are going to change, but we still have to be able to meet reliability and resiliency needs.”
Betting on green hydrogen, which is made using renewable energy, isn’t a sure thing.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
The economic and social calamity we will be facing next year is going to shut down their Green energy plans.
It would be cheaper for the energy industry to align themselves to overthrow the current lunatic government in Sacramento through a massive public education campaign and backing fiscally sane and non-green political challengers.
Madness. NG is the cleanest burning fuel on the planet
Madness. NG is the cleanest burning fuel on the planet
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And California can’t seem to prevent pg&e tesla battery farm substations from burning to the ground when it rains .
Madness squared.
So where is the electricity coming from to even produce hydrogen? From what I understand hydrogen is produced by the electrolysis of water. California barely escaped the summer without blackouts. The grid will not have close to what is needed with electric cars, electric heating, and electric cooking.
Brilliant plan...more people will leave California.
“ Madness. NG is the cleanest burning fuel on the planet”
*****************************************************
Yep. Actually, the more the leftists restrict/disallow natural gas usage in places such as California and New York, the more is available for the rest of us… AT EVEN LOWER COSTS.
I know I know...
Gas turbines...
Then make electricity
distributive energy is very inefficient
Californians are just stupid. My guess is 50 years of birth control hormones recycled back into the water supply...but the possibilities for it are almost endless.
phase I
force everyone onto electric grid
phase II
go to “green” energy which will be incredibly expensive and in short supply
phase III
shut up and get on the bus
I’ve got the answer!
Build a landfill in your back yard.
Use the methane outgassing to run a generator!
You’re exactly right. It’s plentiful and can be very affordable again.
This video details the required materials needed to complete the transition from fossil fuels to the “green economy”. It’s basically an engineering feasibility study. It’s reasonably thorough, a little over an hour. The presenter is a PhD in mining engineering.
The quantity of metal required to make just one generation of renewable tech units to replace fossil fuels, is much larger than first thought. Current mining production of these metals is not even close to meeting demand. Current reported mineral reserves are also not enough in size. Most concerning is copper as one of the flagged shortfalls. Exploration for more at required volumes will be difficult, with this seminar addressing these issues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBVmnKuBocc
This is short and to the point.
My gast is once again flabbered.
California is essentially outlawing the use of natural gas as a source of energy production, way before they have the means of replacing it in any way, shape, form, or manner. If they would look upon natural gas as a necessary bridge fuel from coal, petroleum or other carbon-based forms of energy, until the technology is available (and it IS NOT), they are effectively cutting their own throats. California shall not be able to maintain without a source of cheap and reliable energy, and the alternative sources they are thrusting upon their population, are neither cheap nor reliable. Windmills and solar farms are both extremely wasteful of available resources, and are so notoriously unreliable that the natural-gas powered back-up electric generation capability was the only thing that was propping them up.
You want LOTS and LOTS of cheap energy? Deregulate thorium-fueled molten salt reactor units to the point they would be feasible to be put into mass production, and set up literally HUNDREDS across California. And as a heat source, they could be also used to desalinate sea water by distillation, the recovered water to be used for all potable purposes, replacing the enormous drain of the water resources that feed the agriculture lands of the interior.
But go ahead, California, build your accursed bullet train to nowhere, damn the consequences. And while you are at it, blow up all the hydroelectric power dams, the only reliable “renewable” energy generation system you ever had.
Dumbass CARB, they need to be disbanded!!! all electric homes and business run on solar power.. YA right
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