Report criticizes shift to 'blended' natural gas | Boston | eagletribune ... - Eagle-Tribune

Report criticizes shift to 'blended' natural gas | Boston | eagletribune.com

BOSTON — Plans by major utilities to blend green hydrogen with methane gas for home heating is a “boondoggle” that would divert critical renewable energy sources away from the electric grid, according to a new report.

The report by the advocacy group Gas Transition Allies said scaling up hydrogen-to-homes projects “entail major, avoidable, and unacceptable risks” and urges state regulators to reject plans by utilities to pursue the alternative energy source.

“Wasting Massachusetts’ precious renewable energy resource for a false climate solution will only set the commonwealth back further in its climate goals while prolonging the health impacts of the gas system and increasing costs to consumers,” the report’s authors wrote.

“Heating with green hydrogen would divert renewable energy sources away from the electric grid, jeopardizing the decarbonization efforts made by every sector dependent on a clean grid,” they wrote.

The group, which wants the state to end it’s reliance on natural gas, said recent studies have found that the gas distribution system can’t transport large amounts of hydrogen and that most household appliances can’t “safely combust” large amounts of hydrogen.

“Blending larger amounts of hydrogen into the system creates major risks that pipes will embrittle and leak, and hydrogen will also escape through cracks and holes in the system,” the report’s authors wrote. “Because it’s highly flammable, hydrogen increases the risks of explosions in homes and neighborhoods.”

Researchers have also found that using blended gas with higher than 20% hydrogen would require upgrading the vast majority of the gas pipeline network and require homeowners to install new household appliances.

“This is a mind-boggling, large expense for minuscule gains in advancing Massachusetts’ climate goals,” the report’s author’s wrote.

Massachusetts utilities are searching for alternatives to natural gas to comply with requirements of a climate change bill approved last year, which requires the state to reduce its emissions to “net-zero” of 1990 levels by 2050.

Currently, hydrogen-to-homes projects are only in planning stages in the Bay State, the group said, but other projects are moving forward in other states. Those pilot projects are testing the use of blended hydrogen in gas distribution systems for heating, cooking and other uses in homes and buildings.

National Grid, which serves more than 900,000 gas customers in Massachusetts, is seeking to eliminate fossil fuels from its gas networks in Massachusetts and New York by 2050, replacing it with renewable natural gas and green hydrogen as part of their long-term plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

RNG is produced from landfills, cow manure and wastewater treatment plants and similar to green hydrogen can be blended with regular natural gas.

National Grid says blending natural gas supplies with RNG will provide a “double benefit” by capturing methane leaking from landfills while reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

But environmental groups say RNG and green hydrogen are upwards of five times as expensive as traditional fossil-produced gas, its availability is limited compared to overall gas demand and they argue that its role in addressing climate change would be negligible.

Some states are also seeking to expand reliance on renewable natural gas by providing incentives to utilities to expand their reliance on the fuel source.

New Hampshire lawmakers have considered plans to allow natural gas companies to procure up to 5% of their gas from renewable natural gas. Under the plan, the utilities would have to go through a competitive bidding process to purchase the RNG supplies. Those costs could eventually be passed onto ratepayers.

The shift to blended gas as an alternative fuel source doesn’t appear to have much support in Massachusetts, where environmental policymakers are pursuing plans to expand offshore wind, solar power and other renewable energies.

About half of New England’s energy comes from natural gas, according to ISO New England, which oversees the regional power grid.

Industry officials argue that the state will continue to need natural gas for a large portion of its energy, even as it turns to more renewable sources.

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.