Natural Gas Price Declines Offer Unique Opportunity

Natural gas price declines offer us an opportunity for our region to shift to renewables in a relatively painless way.

by:

Leslie Helm

Our May copy of Seattle Business Magazine hits the news stands with the story "Cheep Gas is Back" just as natural gas prices continue their declines. Natural gas prices for deliver in June fell to $4 per million British thermal units for a total decline of 29 percent this year. The price declines reflect an increase in drilling activity even as inventories of gas remain at an all time high. We are lucky in this region to have a plentiful supply of natural gas coming from British Columbia's Horn River and Montney formations. That gas is already contributing to lower gas prices for homes. But the lower prices also give our region the opportunity to shift away from dirty coal and toward the use of a combination of cleaner gas and renewables. Oregon and Canada are moving much faster to cut back on coal generation. Gas generators can be turned off and on with relative ease, making them the perfect back-up energy for less reliable wind and other sources of renewable energy.