Love your differentiated view between fossil-fuel-based natural gas vs. gaseous fuel infrastructure for (RNG; e-methane) 👌
On the topic of "bridge/transition" fuel, there's an interesting example from EU's Taxonomy Regulation (Reg. 2020/852) and the much criticized amendment Delegated Regulation 2022/1214, which included "electricity generation from natural gas" in the category of "environmentally sustainable activities".
Two big issues:
#1: Transition fuels slowing down RES-E deployment
Reg. 2020/852 - Art. 10(2)(b) states that "transition technologies" should not hamper developing and deploying low-carbon alternatives. It can be argued that additional energy supply via natural gas as a transition technology has the potential to reduce demand for RES-E.
#2: Lock-in of carbon-intensive assets
Reg. 2020/852 - Art. 10(3) states that transition technologies shall not lead to a lock-in of carbon-intensive assets. It can be argued that declaring natural gas as "sustainable" leads to a lock- in of carbon-intensive energy sources over their 20-/30-year lifetime.
This is currently being challenged in front of the Court of Justice of the EU by the Member State Austria 🇦🇹
Curious if there's legal/regulatory dissonance in the US? 🤷♂️
Love your differentiated view between fossil-fuel-based natural gas vs. gaseous fuel infrastructure for (RNG; e-methane) 👌
On the topic of "bridge/transition" fuel, there's an interesting example from EU's Taxonomy Regulation (Reg. 2020/852) and the much criticized amendment Delegated Regulation 2022/1214, which included "electricity generation from natural gas" in the category of "environmentally sustainable activities".
Two big issues:
#1: Transition fuels slowing down RES-E deployment
Reg. 2020/852 - Art. 10(2)(b) states that "transition technologies" should not hamper developing and deploying low-carbon alternatives. It can be argued that additional energy supply via natural gas as a transition technology has the potential to reduce demand for RES-E.
#2: Lock-in of carbon-intensive assets
Reg. 2020/852 - Art. 10(3) states that transition technologies shall not lead to a lock-in of carbon-intensive assets. It can be argued that declaring natural gas as "sustainable" leads to a lock- in of carbon-intensive energy sources over their 20-/30-year lifetime.
This is currently being challenged in front of the Court of Justice of the EU by the Member State Austria 🇦🇹
Curious if there's legal/regulatory dissonance in the US? 🤷♂️