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In 2000, the Ann Arbor community used 8,046,600 thousand cubic feet (mcf) of natural gas. Just over half of that was residential use, one-third was commercial, 11% was used at UM, and the remaining 2% was used in industrial and municipal operations.
Source: Ann Arbor Energy Office |
What is natural gas?
Natural gas is a fossil fuel formed when layers of buried plants and animals are exposed to intense heat and pressure over thousands of years. The energy that the plants and animals originally obtained from the sun is stored in the form of carbon in natural gas. We burn natural gas in our furnaces to heat our homes and businesses and a power plants to generate electricity. Natural gas is a nonrenewable resource because it cannot be replenished on a human time frame.
Source:U.S. EPA
How does the natural gas use affect the Ann Arbor environment?
Ann Arbor uses more energy in the form of natural gas (41% of our total energy use) than as electricity or transportation fuel. Because we use natural gas primarily for heating, the amount we use varies from year to year depending on the weather. However, we still have plenty of influence when we choose the size of our living spaces and set our thermostats.
Natural gas burns more cleanly than other coal or petroleum fuels. It has fewer emissions of sulfur, carbon, and nitrogen than coal or oil, and it has almost no ash particles left after burning. Being a clean fuel is one reason that the use of natural gas, especially for electricity generation, has grown so much over that past 20 years.
However, natural gas is still a nonrenewable fuel and burning it produces carbon dioxide. Additionally, exploring for natural gas, drilling wells, and building and maintaining pipelines natural gas also have environmental impacts. Finally, because natural gas is made up mostly of methane (another greenhouse gas), small amounts of methane can leak into the atmosphere from wells, storage tanks and pipelines.
Source: U.S. EPA
What substitutes are available for natural gas?
Methane, the primary constituent of natural gas, is formed in landfills as trash breaks down. This landfill gas can be collected and used just like natural gas for heating or generating electricity. Methane can also be produced through the anaerobic digestion of wastewater or food waste. Entirely different fuels can also be substituted, such as biomass (wood, etc.), which can be burned either for heat or to generate electricity, or wind power that can generate electricity without combustion.
City Initiatives
The City of Ann Arbor Energy Office is responsible for energy efficiency projects and consults to Service Areas on energy puchases. Ann Arbor’s 1981 Energy Plan set forth a goal to, in part, “increase energy efficiency and use of renewable resources in existing and new construction.” That statement is still as valid today when it was written. Reducing natural gas use will also be an important component in achieving the City goals of zero net greenhouse gas emissions and 100% renewable energy use. The city is evaluating the use of methane digesters to generate energy from wastewater treatment biosolids and food waste.
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