The Stanford Natural Gas Initiative is planning a busy and informative 2018. In February we had our annual Governing Board meeting to better define our focus and direction for the year. We will maintain our current research while launching several new research directions around the role of natural gas in future energy systems, renewable natural gas, and unconventional reservoirs. We will issue a new call for research proposals in 2018 and are announcing a week of events in October 2018. Please be sure to keep checking our website and future newsletters to stay updated on what is coming up.
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Stanford researcher explores potential for an effective, low-cost, and fair U.S. climate policy
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Stanford News - Stanford economics Professor and NGI researcher, Larry Goulder, discusses the tradeoffs of federal climate policy options and finds ways to enhance both societal health and economic benefits.
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San Diego Union Tribune - Natural gas is now the nation’s leading source of electricity. It is abundant and cheap, which has not only crippled the coal industry but has also impacted virtually every other source of power that makes up the energy grid. Some have estimated there is enough natural gas in the U.S. to meet the country’s energy needs for about 200 years. But “King Gas” has its critics — especially among environmentalists — and California’s fast-changing energy landscape offers hints that a long, smooth reign for natural gas is far from assured.
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Ongoing Research by NGI Faculty
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Mobile Monitoring Challenge
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The Mobile Monitoring Challenge is underway. After receiving 25 proposals from engineers and technology developers from 5 countries, the group led by Stanford professor Adam Brandt selected 12 technologies to participate in this research project. They will design and administer a series of large-scale controlled methane releases and select teams will use mobile technologies to detect and monitor the leaks. The technologies can be ground-based (truck-mounted) or aerial (planes, satellites, etc.), but they must be able to quickly assess leaks while in motion and off-site. The tests will be conducted in April - May 2018.
“The Mobile Monitoring Challenge provides an exciting opportunity to compare — on an equal footing — numerous proposed methane detection technologies,” said Brandt, an assistant professor of energy resources engineering at Stanford’s School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences and NGI researcher.
The natural gas sector has seen enormous technological change in recent years, resulting in lower gas costs and abundant reserves. When burned, natural gas releases about half as much carbon dioxide as coal. However, methane – a major component of natural gas – is a greenhouse gas 84 times as powerful as carbon dioxide over the first 20 years from release. For this reason, reducing leaks and emissions of unburned methane is a key challenge to achieving a more sustainable energy system.
The competition is co-sponsored by Stanford University’s Natural Gas Initiative (NGI) and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
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Free Online Course in Reservoir Geomechanics
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NGI Director and Stanford Professor of Geophysics, Mark Zoback, is offering a free online class in Reservoir Geomechanics. This interdisciplinary course encompasses the fields of rock mechanics, structural geology, earthquake seismology, and petroleum engineering to address a wide range of geomechanical problems that arise during the exploitation of oil and gas reservoirs. To date, over 9000 people have successfully completed the course.
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NGI Meetings - October 2018
The Stanford Natural Gas Initiative is organizing an entire week dedicated to Natural Gas with workshops, meetings, and networking opportunities. Please make your calendars for October 15 to 19, 2018. Events will be held at Stanford University.
Confirmed Events:
- NGI Workshop: Global Competition Between Coal and Natural Gas; October 15th. This working meeting will assemble subject matter experts on current and future trends in global coal and gas markets and the competition between coal and natural gas for power generation and industrial applications around the world.
- International Symposium: Future Energy Systems: Natural Gas in a Renewable, Decarbonizing World; October 16th and 17th. This invitation-only event will include thought leaders and experts from industry, governments, NGOs, inter-governmental organizations, and academia from around the world. Participants will discuss concrete plans and guiding principles for future energy systems in a world characterized by increasingly prevalent renewable energy sources and how natural gas is expected to fit into those future energy systems along with other energy sources and energy storage mechanisms.
- 2018 Annual NGI Industrial Affiliates Meeting - October 18th and 19th. This is our annual meeting for industrial affiliate members, Stanford researchers, and guests to learn about the latest Stanford research and discuss topics of interest to natural gas industries
Details about the meeting topics, agenda, scheduling, and speakers will be announced in the coming months. We welcome suggestions for topics and speakers, or expression of interest in attendance. Suggestions can be made by contacting NGI managing director, Brad Ritts at
ritts@stanford.edu
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See the Natural Gas Initiative at:
Stanford NGI researchers and staff will be attending these upcoming events. Please let us know if you’d like to connect.
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NGI
397 Panama Mall, Mitchell Building, Stanford, CA, 94305-2215
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