in this section
Low prices spur reconsideration of renewables mandates 8
Getting utilities to embrace distributed generation 8
expanded use of natural gas addresses climate change 12
PNNL’s solar concentrator.
shininG A LiGht FoR GAs eFFiciencY
Solar energy could make gas-fired power plants
more efficient, thanks to technology being tested
by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. A solar concentrator
acts like a magnifying glass to create very high
temperatures. The heat breaks hydrogen bonds in
the methane to produce energy-rich syngas. The
syngas generates 25 percent more power than
natural gas, with virtually no increase in CO2
emissions. The technology would be well-suited
to combined-cycle gas-fired power plants, said
PNNL engineer Bob Wegeng. “By adding solar
concentrators, power plants could spend less
on natural gas and produce lower emissions,”
Wegeng told American Gas. Wegeng hopes the
technology will reach commercialization in less
than three years.
—Eric Schoeniger
JULY 2013 AmericAn GAs
7
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - July 2013