Staff Reports
Last year, there was a whole lot of natural gas used by Americans, and Texas played a huge role in making that happen. Some reports say that Texas made about one-third of all the natural gas used last year. The U.S. Energy Information reported that natural gas was used more last year than ever before. In fact, it has gone up by about 4% every year since 2018. It’s important to note that this increase in natural gas use has happened as coal-fired power plants have shut down and been replaced by natural gas and renewable energy sources.
But the Biden administration and its policies have been trying to limit the amount of natural gas the U.S. can export. The administration also wants to place restrictions on the natural gas industry and give more money to renewable energy companies. However, Ed Longanecker of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association says that natural gas is super important for keeping the lights on, especially when there’s a high demand for electricity. He explains that the grid would be in big trouble if it relied only on renewable energy.
Despite these challenges, Texas has been leading the way in making natural gas production better for the environment. In fact, between 2011 and 2022, the amount of a harmful gas called methane that’s released during natural gas production in Texas went down by almost 85%. Plus, Texas made a record amount of natural gas last year, and a bunch of that natural gas got sent all over the world.
So, even though some folks are trying to make it harder for the natural gas industry to do its job, Texas and American natural gas producers are proving that they can meet the growing demand for natural gas in a responsible way. And with the increasing need for electricity, it seems like natural gas will continue to be super important for the country and its allies.
