A review of water and greenhouse gas impacts of unconventional natural gas development in the United States

D. J. Arent1, Jeffrey Logan1, Jordan Macknick1, William C. Boyd2, Kenneth B. Medlock3, Francis O’Sullivan4, Jae Edmonds5, Leon Clarke5, Hillard G. Huntington6, Garvin Heath1, Patricia Statwick1, Morgan Bazilian7
1Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, 80401, USA
2Law Department, University of Colorado Boulder, Regent Administrative Center, Boulder, Colorado, 80309-0552, USA
3Center for Energy Studies, Baker Institute, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 77251-1892, USA
4MIT Energy Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA
5Joint Global Change Research Institute, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, College Park, Maryland, 20740, USA
6Energy Modeling Forum, Department of Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305-6106, USA
7Columbia University, New York, New York, 10027, USA

Tóm tắt

AbstractThis paper reviews recent developments in the production and use of unconventional natural gas in the United States with a focus on water and greenhouse gas emission implications. If unconventional natural gas in the U.S. is produced responsibly, transported and distributed with little leakage, and incorporated into integrated energy systems that are designed for future resiliency, it could play a significant role in realizing a more sustainable energy future; however, the increased use of natural gas as a substitute for more carbon intensive fuels will alone not substantially alter world carbon dioxide concentration projections.This paper reviews recent developments in the production and use of unconventional natural gas in the United States with a focus on environmental impacts. Specifically, we focus on water management and greenhouse gas emission implications. If unconventional natural gas in the United States is produced responsibly, transported and distributed with little leakage, and incorporated into integrated energy systems that are designed for future resiliency, it could play a significant role in realizing a more sustainable energy future. The cutting-edge of industry water management practices gives a picture of how this transition is unfolding, although much opportunity remains to minimize water use and related environmental impacts. The role of natural gas to mitigate climate forcing is less clear. While natural gas has low CO2 emissions upon direct use, methane leakage and long term climate effects lead to the conclusion that increased use of natural gas as a substitute for more carbon intensive fuels will not substantially alter world carbon dioxide concentration projections, and that other zero or low carbon energy sources will be needed to limit GHG concentrations. We conclude with some possible avenues for further work.

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