Call Us at
844-ASK-GNRC
Find a Distributor
Find Service
Careers
Contact Us
Select your region
Europe
Africa
Latin America
Asia
Middle East
Oceania
Search for:
Generac Industrial Power
Menu
Search
Main navigation
Skip to content
Hide Nav
All About
All About
Battery Energy Storage
Generac Industrial Power
HVO
Hydrogen
Industrial Strength
Energy Management
Configured vs Standard
Generator Paralleling
Natural Gas Fuel
Natural Gas Reliability
Natural Gas Performance
Natural Gas Resources
Diesel Fuel
BI-FUEL™
Selecting the Best Fuel Option
Solutions By Industry
Solutions By Industry
Data Centers
Healthcare
Senior Living Solutions
Emergency Power Plan Form
Municipal
Telecommunications
Education
Manufacturing
Small Business
Government
Professional Resources
Professional Resources
Generator Specifying, Sizing and Comparison Tools
Generac City
Generac BIM Documents
Emissions Unit Converter
Heat Rate Calculator
Power Design Pro
Total Cost of Ownership Calculator
Information Resources
Case Studies
Video Gallery
News & Whitepapers
Industry News
PowerConnect Newsletter
Whitepapers
Continuing Education
Power Engineer Symposium
Professional Development Seminar Series (PDSS)
Product Documents
Brochures
Spec Sheets
Products
Products
Battery Energy Storage
SBE500 Stationary Battery Energy Storage
SBE1000 Stationary Battery Energy Storage
Diesel Generators
Configured
10kW - 30kW
35kW - 50kW
60kW - 80kW
100kW - 175kW
200kW - 250kW
275kW - 300kW
350kW - 600kW
750kW - 800kW
900kW - 1000kW
1250kW +
All Products…
Standard
All Products…
Transfer Switches and Controllers
Power Zone Controllers
G-Panel Controller
Specification Text
TX Series Transfer Switches
PSTS Transfer Switches
Gaseous Generators
Configured
< 35kW
35kW - 50kW
50kW - 70kW
70kW - 100kW
100kW - 150kW
150kW - 300kW
350kW - 450kW
500kW
625kW - 750kW
1000kW
All Products…
Standard
All Products…
BI-FUEL™ Generators
Configured
All Products…
Aftermarket Parts and Service
Webinars
Webinars
Select your region
Region navigation
Europe
Africa
Latin America
Asia
Middle East
Oceania
Search for:
Power Connect Newsletter
Share This Article
Natural gas grows into the largest electrical source in the United States
11/26/2018 12:00:00 AM
For the United States as a whole, natural gas provided 32% of total electricity generation in 2017, which is slightly higher than coal’s 30% share according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA reported that natural gas generated 1,378,307,000 megawatts compared to 1,239,149,000 for coal.
“In 2017,
coal
provided the largest generation share in 18 states, down from 28 states in 2007 while
natural gas
had the largest share in 16 states, up from 11 in 2007,” said EIA in its Sept. 10, 2018 report.
The U.S. is currently the world’s largest natural gas producer, having surpassed Russia in 2009. According to EIA, natural gas production in the U.S. has jumped from 55 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2008 to average 73.6 Bcf/d in 2017.
Gas electricity generation has continued to grow, as prices have been relatively low and production continues to rise. The market-driven response to low prices and new environmental regulations favors natural gas along with renewable energy sources like solar and wind.
The use of diesel generator sets as the primary choice for reliable temporary on-site power generation is falling. With several practical benefits – including reduced maintenance costs and emissions as well as enhanced accessibility – natural gas is quickly becoming the fuel of choice for a variety of industrial power applications.
Diesel engine emissions from stationary sources are part of a larger group of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air quality regulations. Ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel was a prerequisite for engine exhaust aftertreatment systems introduced after 2006, enabling engines to achieve exhaust emissions more than 99% cleaner than engines manufactured prior to 1996. However, ULSD has a shorter shelf life compared to its high-sulfur predecessor. On-site diesel storage tanks are typically sized to provide 12 to 72 hours of run time, and fuel polishing is required every six to 24 months.
NFPA 100 also requires fuel to be remediated as necessary. According to NFPA 110, fuel tanks that are subject to temperature variations can experience accelerated fuel degradation, especially if the tanks are outside and above ground. The presence of water can lead to microbiological contamination and growth, which in turn can lead to general pitting corrosion of steel tanks and components, possibly resulting in filter plugging, operational issues or a hydrocarbon release into the environment.
With ULSD requiring more rigorous maintenance for the fuel itself coupled with the EPA’s mandate for cleaner-burning diesel engines that require a higher quality fuel, diesel fuel is no longer the low-cost, low-maintenance emergency fuel it had been.
By comparison, natural gas generators avoid those fuel supply and maintenance issues. According to a 2013 report by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory, natural gas distribution systems operate at a reliability rate exceeding 99.999%, with the exception of seismically active areas. Incidentally, that makes the natural gas distribution system approximately one-thousand times more reliable than a single engine generator set, which is typically assumed to be 99% reliable.
The same MIT report notes that many of the compressors on the transmission network are powered by natural gas, using approximately 3% of the natural gas produced. The distributed nature of the natural gas production and transmission networks result in an exceedingly low probability of cascading failure.
For those who require emergency power systems, natural gas addresses all their concerns: cleaner exhaust emissions, equal or better fuel availability, reduced fuel maintenance and reduced environmental liability. According to the EIA, from an end user’s perspective, natural gas is delivered on demand, and it is easy to overlook more than four-trillion cubic feet of storage in the continental United States. If all natural gas production in the United States ceased simultaneously, it would still take anywhere from two to nine weeks to fully deplete the natural gas in underground storage.
When choosing a fuel source for a backup power solution, working with a local generator representative is an important step in ensuring the ideal products are specified to meet the city, state and national codes as well as the needs of the customer.
Share This Article
Current
Articles
Microgrid Provides a Sustainable Solution Independent from the Grid
Temporary Microgrid Supplies Necessary Power for Construction Job Trailers
LPG: Propane vs. Petroleum Gas as a Generator Fuel
Understanding Power Outages
Comprehensive Emergency Power Plan
Article
Archive
April 2021
August 2021
February 2021
December 2020
January 2022
June 2021
October 2020
August 2020
June 2020
April 2020
February 2020
December 2019
October 2019
August 2019
June 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
December 2017
October 2017
January 2017
October 2016
June 2016
March 2016
December 2015
October 2015
August 2015
Mobile navigation
Call Us at 844-ASK-GNRC
All About
Battery Energy Storage
Generac Industrial Power
HVO
Hydrogen
Industrial Strength
Energy Management
Configured vs Standard
Generator Paralleling
Natural Gas Fuel
Natural Gas Reliability
Natural Gas Performance
Natural Gas Resources
Diesel Fuel
BI-FUEL™
Selecting the Best Fuel Option
Solutions By Industry
Data Centers
Healthcare
Senior Living Solutions
Emergency Power Plan Form
Municipal
Telecommunications
Education
Manufacturing
Small Business
Government
Professional Resources
Generator Specifying, Sizing and Comparison Tools
Generac City
Generac BIM Documents
Emissions Unit Converter
Heat Rate Calculator
Power Design Pro
Total Cost of Ownership Calculator
Information Resources
Case Studies
Video Gallery
News & Whitepapers
Industry News
PowerConnect Newsletter
Whitepapers
Continuing Education
Power Engineer Symposium
Professional Development Seminar Series (PDSS)
Product Documents
Brochures
Spec Sheets
Products
Battery Energy Storage
SBE500 Stationary Battery Energy Storage
SBE1000 Stationary Battery Energy Storage
Diesel Generators
Transfer Switches and Controllers
Power Zone Controllers
G-Panel Controller
Specification Text
TX Series Transfer Switches
PSTS Transfer Switches
Gaseous Generators
BI-FUEL™ Generators
Aftermarket Parts and Service
Webinars
Find a Distributor
Find Service
Careers
Contact Us