I am not an expert, but I try to be pragmatic. Here’s what socalgas.com says about the topic.
You’re right that natural gas is methane and that leaks are bad. However I think a nuanced view is important here for a few reasons.
Many developed countries have the infrastructure and workforce in place to not just safely deliver methane to buildings as an energy source but also to correct leaks.
Methane can be produced via a variety of sources both at a large and small scale. I’ve toyed with the idea of making a black soldier fly larvae farm and methane would be a by product
Gas tanks to hold methane have maximum a lifespan of 10 years. However many other methods of storing potential energy have a much shorter maximum lifespan, making methane a decent backup energy source in cases of emergency.
I don’t know how good the energy conversion rate of burning methane is but I would be surprised if it is low.
Personally I think we should leverage every option, especially the lower hanging fruit before dismissing these options as being not ideal when the alternative is continuing to do worse.
I am not an expert, but I try to be pragmatic. Here’s what socalgas.com says about the topic.
You’re right that natural gas is methane and that leaks are bad. However I think a nuanced view is important here for a few reasons.
Many developed countries have the infrastructure and workforce in place to not just safely deliver methane to buildings as an energy source but also to correct leaks.
Methane can be produced via a variety of sources both at a large and small scale. I’ve toyed with the idea of making a black soldier fly larvae farm and methane would be a by product
Gas tanks to hold methane have maximum a lifespan of 10 years. However many other methods of storing potential energy have a much shorter maximum lifespan, making methane a decent backup energy source in cases of emergency.
I don’t know how good the energy conversion rate of burning methane is but I would be surprised if it is low.
Personally I think we should leverage every option, especially the lower hanging fruit before dismissing these options as being not ideal when the alternative is continuing to do worse.