Fuel for Thought: Infrastructure Does Matter

American Gas Magazine
Fred J. Fowler
Group President, Energy Transmission
Duke Energy

Some 38,000 Miles of New Pipeline Are Needed by 2020.

FOR THE FIRST TIME since the early 1970s, energy has been an ongoing, nationwide topic of conversation. Debate over the merits of deregulation, the advantages of one fuel over another, the need for conservation versus new production, and the environmental implications of our choices have taken center stage, and it’s about time.

Or perhaps, just in time. If any good has resulted from the California energy crisis, it may be that it reminded the entire country that infrastructure does matter.

No one can pinpoint North America’s exact energy needs 10 or 20 years from now or the advanced technologies that will meet those needs. But we do know, from analysis of current trends, that by 2020 or sooner:

• U.S. energy demand will increase—by an estimated 62 percent for natural gas, 33 percent for oil and 45 percent for electricity, according to the Energy Information Administration.
• The United States will have to build at least 1,300 new power plants to meet demand for electricity, and natural gas is expected to fuel 90 percent of those generating facilities.
• As natural gas gains market share, demand will rise to well over 30 Tcf per year.
• Some 38,000 miles of new pipeline—enough to circle the earth 1.5 times—will be needed.

While the energy debate continues, there is widespread agreement on one critical point—the development of new infrastructure to meet immediate and long-term energy needs is long overdue.

We in the energy industry have a responsibility and an opportunity to build that infrastructure, in the right places and at the right times to meet demand.

Duke Energy has been active in addressing the nation’s energy infrastructure needs. From the thousands of megawatts we’ve brought online or have under advanced development to the building of natural gas gathering, processing and interstate pipeline systems to access major supply basins, we have worked to deliver energy solutions to those areas of the nation where demand is greatest. Whether we’re addressing the specific, moment’s-notice needs of power generators by growing our high-deliverability gas storage services or jointly developing an energy system to meet the long-term natural gas needs of a rapidly growing state, providing infrastructure is at the forefront of our efforts.

Our nation’s goal of guaranteeing a safe, reliable and plentiful supply of energy is constrained only by our national will to find, develop and deliver it. We in the natural gas industry need not apologize when our efforts are successful, when the business interests of our industry coincide with the national interest. Our ultimate goal should be success from every vantage point—from energy producer to consumer, and all players in between.

(Reprinted with permission of AMERICAN GAS magazine, the official publication of the American Gas Association.)