Most people don't know that today natural gas meets 30 per cent of Canada's energy needs with Canadian natural gas distribution companies serving approximately 6.2 million customers in homes, businesses and industry across Canada.

Natural gas is abundantly available, affordable, safe, reliable, versatile, and a clean source of energy. That's why over six million customers representing well over half the Canadian population rely on it today for heat and power in homes, apartments, buildings, businesses, hospitals and schools.

In Canada's energy future, natural gas is a smart energy choice for meeting the needs of our homes, businesses and hospitals, communities, and transportation.

In buildings for direct heating--including space and water heating, cooking and drying--natural gas is the most energy-efficient choice available, with both environmental and economic benefits. Natural gas helps reduce emissions and--because of its abundance and the promise that innovation will unlock unconventional, renewable and other sources--is also likely to remain highly affordable.

Inspired by one company's interest in energy efficiency, SaskEnergy is partnering with SaskPower, Natural Resources Canada and Advanced Engine Technology Ltd. of Ottawa on a prototype combined heat and power (CHP) system that promises to reduce energy costs and environmental emissions, while providing emergency power in the event of an outage. The six kilowatt CHP system installed at Inland Metal, a Regina-based sheet metal fabricator, integrates technologies that enable it to be extremely efficient, maximizing use of the provincial electrical grid and natural gas distribution systems.

To show that larger installations can also benefit from natural gas technology tied into ground loops, Alberta based ATCO Gas has constructed an operation centre in north Edmonton that uses natural gas heat pumps. Extracting solar energy stored in the ground, ATCO aims to achieve 125 per cent system efficiency--producing 1.25 units of useful heat for every unit of natural gas consumed.

Other Canadian utilities are undertaking similar projects. Ontario's Union Gas is installing innovative natural gas technologies in three of its new buildings including natural gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) at one Burlington location. There, two 65-kilowatt natural gas micro-turbines generate electricity and their formerly wasted heat is stored in a water-filled thermal storage tank for release as needed by the building.

In communities, natural gas is an ideal, quick-firing and affordable partner for renewable energy sources such as solar and wind that don't necessarily provide power when and where it is needed. And the country's natural gas infrastructure can be used to distribute biomethane--a natural, entirely renewable energy source.

Also in Ontario, Enbridge Gas Distribution is currently working on an energy solution for wide-scale deployment in urban areas. As gas moves from its source to power plants and homes, it travels through pipelines of increasingly smaller size--releasing pressure at transition points. Through small turbines installed at city gate stations where gas moves from the transmission grid to the distribution grid, Enbridge is transforming this waste energy into a consistent, stable and efficient energy source.

Canada's natural gas infrastructure can also be used to transport biomethane--a renewable natural gas produced from a number of sources including sewer sludge and municipal solid waste. In British Columbia, Terasen Gas has applied to the British Columbia Utilities Commission to work with Catalyst Power Inc. to upgrade biogas captured from agricultural waste and inject it into Terasen's distribution system providing a complete renewable energy source.

On the road, for municipal fleets, heavy-duty highway trucking and return-to-base shippers, Canadian technology exists to switch to clean, reliable compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG)--reducing costs, emissions and dependence on imported energy.

Gaz Métro in Quebec is looking at transportation applications for natural gas. The company has plans to soon begin fuelling heavy-duty trucks with liquefied natural gas (LNG)--helping achieve GHG reductions of up to 25 per cent while lowering fuel costs and offering, according to any short-terms financial forecasts, greater price stability than diesel.

Natural gas will continue to be a primary energy source for heat, power, and transportation but what's really exciting is the future role that natural gas and natural gas utility companies have to enable innovative alternative energy and alternative technology.

Timothy M. Egan

Timothy Egan is President and CEO of the Canadian Gas Association. The Ottawa based trade association representing Canada's natural gas distribution industry, recently released "Natural Gas: Our Place in Canada's Sustainable Energy Future".