You may not know this, but the natural gas used in most of the homes and businesses is dangerous. This fossil fuel used for cooking or heating is impacting our environment in a big way. It may not be apparent to everyone, but it’s certainly happening.
Natural gas is not a renewable source of energy. When you burn this gas, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. If we continue to use natural gas, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is bound to increase. This will only add to the worldwide crisis of global warming.
What is green natural gas?
Green natural gas is generated by decaying organic materials, such as egg shells and orange peels in landfills. Upon decomposition, such natural materials produce gas rich in energy. This gas can then be cleaned and supplied as natural gas. While this gas does release carbon dioxide when used for cooking or heating, it doesn’t harm the environment.
This is because the carbon dioxide released by green natural gas is a part of the natural carbon cycle. It would be produced by the decaying organic waste anyway. This is the carbon dioxide, which is required for the growth of plants and animals. So, you can use the green natural gas without contributing to global warming.
Production of green natural gas
By increasing the scale of production, the costs involved in producing this gas can be reduced. Costs can also be brought down by setting up an anaerobic digestion plant next to a transportation link. Green natural gas is produced mainly through the process of anaerobic digestion.
This is the process which micro-organisms use to break down materials that are biodegradable in the absence of oxygen. This breaking down of organic material is also known as biomethanation. This process produces gas in a natural way, which is then cleaned using modern technology. Once cleaned, it is injected into the gas grid for business or home use.
Bulb: A case study in the generation and supply of green natural gas
In 2019, Bulb was celebrating its four years in business. At the time, it was one of the fastest growing startups in the UK. It had over 1 million customers and more than £1 billion in revenues. It had also raised over £60 million in venture capital and announced its plans of expansion to other markets.
Today, Bulb is one of the largest suppliers of green energy in the UK. It supplies 100% green electricity and 10% green natural gas. Although they produce more quantity of green electricity, the company is doing whatever it can to promote green natural gas. In 2017, almost the entire quantity of green natural gas they produced came from crops and farm waste.
The company works with generators located across the UK with a 3-year agreement with most of them. With a huge demand for green natural gas in the country, they’ll be building more green gas plants. More energy consumers in the UK are switching to their service as it is cheaper. They are over £150 cheaper than the big six energy companies in the country.
This case study shows that it is possible to generate and distribute green natural gas at cheaper rates. More such energy companies are expected to come up in the near future across the world. When this happens, the consumers of such companies would be contributing in their own way to a greener earth.
