Why Ontario’s natural gas pipelines matter in a net-zero future
Source: National Post, Ottawa Citizen
Date: May 24, 2024
Natural gas is critical to any plan to make Ontario more sustainable
As Canada moves towards a net-zero future, the need to ensure reliable access to affordable and readily available lower-carbon fuels has never been more critical. Ontario is well positioned to transition smoothly into this future thanks to an extensive natural gas infrastructure ready to deliver low-carbon fuels such as made-in-Ontario renewable natural gas (RNG) now and hydrogen in the near future.
It’s practical: Leverage existing assets
“It makes sense to use today’s existing pipeline infrastructure—which, in Ontario, stretches out almost 154,000 kilometres—to deliver today and tomorrow’s low-carbon fuels to consumers and businesses,” says Gordon Lau, renewable natural gas manager at Enbridge Gas, Canada’s largest natural gas storage, transmission and distribution company.
Enbridge Gas invests more than $2 billion annually in Ontario to ensure its pipelines’ safe operation and maintenance. These pipelines are protected from several weather conditions, ensuring reliable energy delivery to Ontarians all year round. Today, this natural gas infrastructure serves 75% of Ontario consumers.
Electrification will take a lot of time and money
According to a report by Natural Resources Canada, it will take approximately 142 years to retrofit all homes, including electrification of space and water heating, at the current retrofit rate of less than 1%, per year. Additionally, it will take around 71 years to retrofit all commercial and public buildings with an estimated cost of between $20 billion to $30 billion a year.
Upgrading to an energy system with no new gas generation would cost the province approximately $400 billion over 25 years, as noted by Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Building large energy infrastructures such as hydroelectric, nuclear facilities and transmission can take 10 to 15 years, according to the IESO.
In the transportation sector—which produces the most emissions in Ontario, electric buses have encountered issues due to poor battery performance, especially in cold weather, and limited charging infrastructure. In Edmonton, about half of the electric bus fleet rolled out in 2020 was out of service within just three years, similar to the experiences of public transit operators outside of Ontario.
Meanwhile, renewables aren’t ready for large-scale deployment
Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar remain intermittently available and expensive to store. According to energy pathway studies conducted for the City of Ottawa, wind power generation in Ontario has only a small number of very high production hours.
RNG, delivered through existing pipelines, is ready today
Biogas is created by capturing and purifying methane emissions from landfills and other sources, which is then treated and converted into renewable natural gas (RNG). RNG is readily available as a clean energy solution that can be blended into existing natural gas distribution and transmission networks, replacing conventional natural gas and diesel to heat homes, businesses, factories and fuel transit fleets.
In Hamilton, the first bus powered by carbon-negative RNG that was produced from organic waste was launched in 2021, while in Toronto, 35% of the city’s organic waste is converted to RNG and added to the existing natural gas system.
Electricity producers can use RNG for immediate power generation without changing equipment. Ontario EPS customers, the large emitters, can now use Ontario-made RNG through the existing natural gas distribution and trans-mission networks to reduce their emissions footprints, reported to the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks. The measure was introduced on April 16, 2024 by the MECP.
Hydrogen brings added value with zero-emission capabilities
Enbridge Gas became the first utility in North America to blend hydrogen—a zero-emission-capable fuel—with natural gas in 2022, further reducing the carbon footprint of natural gas. Today, Enbridge Gas delivers hydrogen-blended gas to approximately 3,600 customers in Markham, using the same pipeline that it uses to distribute non-blended natural gas.
Enbridge Gas has also installed North America’s first 100% hydrogen-fueled 115 kW Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system at its building in Markham.
A fun fact is that surplus electricity can be transformed and stored as pure hydrogen, known as green hydrogen, which can later be injected into natural gas. The existing natural gas infrastructure can be utilized to produce very low-carbon hydrogen using methane splitting technology through pyrolysis.
Pipelines are an asset we mustn’t waste
In the net-zero future, the pipelines we have today can be used to deliver RNG and hydrogen-blended natural gas to Ontario consumers and businesses.
“We need to leverage the existing pipeline infrastructure and make it part of a reliable and affordable low-carbon energy solution,” says Lau. “The pipelines are an invaluable asset, today and tomorrow.”
This story was provided by Enbridge for commercial purposes.
