Study espouses natural gas cost effectiveness

The American Petroleum Institute (API) recently released a study maintaining that even with cheaper battery storage, natural gas remains the most cost-effective energy option.

“This study corroborates what API has been saying all along, which is that natural gas is the natural base load partner to renewable energy sources, which are still only projected to make up 15 percent of domestic energy use by 2050 according to the EIA,” Todd Snitchler, vice president of Market Development and Industry Operations, said. “Even if battery storage prices drop precipitously in the coming years, they still will not be adopted at the rates necessary to make a dramatic impact on natural gas power generation and likely won’t lower electricity prices for consumers according to this study.”

The work involved analyzing a set of scenarios, targeting costs for grid storage and natural gas resource availability as the variables. The study also determined electricity prices, residential electricity, and total energy expenditures were not measurably impacted by storage penetration, demonstrating subsidizing battery storage will likely not bring down costs for consumers.

API is the only national trade association representing all facets of the natural gas and oil industry, supporting 10.3 million jobs and nearly 8 percent of the economy.