Natural gas Taking America's electric power sector by storm

Many view natural gas as the key feature of the United States' new energy economy. Whether this is true or not is still to be determined. What is evident, though, is that natural gas is a growing energy resource for America. According to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), electricity produced from natural gas has increased 44% over the past ten years.

The EIA says the increased production was driven by several factors. First, infrastructure and capacity has increased: more natural gas capacity, 237 gigawatts, was brought on-line between 2000 and 2010 than any other energy resource. Over that time period, natural gas accounted for 81% of total electricity capacity additions.

Currently, natural gas-fired generators constitute 39% of America's total electric generation capacity -- providing 1,042 gigawatts of energy annually. Much like renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, natural gas is a relatively new player to the nation's electric grid -- 65% of America's natural gas-fired capacity has been added since 1980.

The second factor leading to the rise of natural gas consumption in the electric power sector is that natural gas power plants have increasingly been used to provide baseload power. This means that natural gas powered facilities are relied on to provide energy during more hours of the day. For example, between 2005 and 2010, the average output for natural gas plants during peak hours (6:00 am to 10:00 pm) rose 10%.

The final driver, as identified by the EIA, for the rise in natural gas consumption is a drop in price of the resource. The drop is due to increased ability of the industry to economically extract America's copious amounts of shale gas. Energy independence has long been an unsolvable riddle for the United States -- no country consumes more imported oil than the U.S.

Politicians and industry experts alike point to natural gas as the quickest, most reliable pathway toward energy independence. The U.S. sits on the largest known reserve of shale gas in the world. Some have estimated there is enough to meet the country's energy needs for more than a century. Known as the "clean burning" fossil fuel, natural gas is hailed as a more environmentally sustainable resource resource than coal and oil -- perfect for a country and world trying to curb carbon emissions and their mitigate the effects of climate change.

Nevertheless, other energy analysts and politicians see natural gas in the same light as oil and coal -- an energy source that offers more harm than help to the American public. A recent study conducted by Cornell University shows that natural gas extracted through hydraulic fracturing could produce between 20% to 200% more greenhouse gas emissions than coal.

With the crude oil-to-natural gas price ratio sitting above 30, the safety of nuclear energy being re-evaluated, and renewable resources still requiring more grid infrastructure upgrades and political support to spur large-scale growth, the United States' natural gas consumption could continue to rise in the years to come.

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