Quality of Life Issue '08: Biogas-An Alternative to New York State's Current Pricey Natural Gas Sources

Introduction of Biogas to New York State:Analyzing the Environmental and Economic Impacts

 Hi! Our names are Sneha Banerjee and Krista Maetta and we are students at Staten Island Technical High School. We have entered the Quality of Life Competition and are currently in the final round of judging. One aspect of our research analyzed the economic and environmental benefits of introducing a biogas plant in New York State (NYS) as an alternative to current natural gas sources  for the commercial sector.

Our Research...

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Over the last century, the United States has been dependent on fossil fuels such as coal and oil to generate heat and electricity. This dependence has lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, which is a major cause of global warming. This phenomenon initiated a worldwide drive toward the use of fuels with reduced greenhouse gas emissions, such as natural gas. Natural gas has 44% less CO2 emissions than coal and 29% less than oil. Although natural gas has environmental advantage to other fossil fuels, long and costly transportation routes are needed for its delivery

In the NYS Commercial Sector: our sources of natural gas  in Texas and Novia Scotia charge $7.13 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) for extraction. Costs of interstate and local transportation is averaged at $13.65 per Mcf; thus the total cost for natural gas in NYS is  averaged at $20.84 per Mcf.

Addressing the Problem: We focused on finding a feasible alternative source to natural gas. Biogas, an alternative fuel produced through the anaerobic digestion of organic municipal waste, can be upgraded to natural gas quality and injected into a pipeline network.
We modeled a biogas plant in Tilburg, Netherlands for Albany, New York near the location of natural gas distribution and storage. Introduction of this plant would reduce the current price of natural gas for the commercial sector of New York by decreasing both theextraction and transportation costs significantly.

For Further information read our complete Quality of Life Proposal or view our PowerPoint Presentation summarizing our project!

Diagram depicting how a biogas plant could sustain a small village

Tilburg Biogas Plant- to be modeled in Albany, NY

Current Implementation on Staten Island:  National Grid  & Going Green

New York currently has TWO major utility companies: ConEd and National Grid (formally known as Keyspan)

ConEd has control of storage and distribution of natural gas and oil for Manhattan, Bronx, parts of Queens and Westchester. National Grid has control of Staten Island, Brooklyn and a small part of Queens.

In recent efforts to push eco-friendliness, ConEd has launched a "Going Green" program. Due to deregulation, natural gas customers can now choose the SOURCE of their natural gas. Through ConEd's new program one may choose from a variety of environmentally friendly sources such as hydro-power or biogas! This switch results in almost no cost difference but has significant environmental impact!

What's the Problem?

National Grid is not currently participating in this program, and is showing no effort to launch a "green-power" program!

What Can We Do?

We have linked a petition to this website regarding this matter. As Staten Island residents it is our duty to voice our environmental concerns loud and clear! If we accumulate a substantial amount of signatures on the petition, we will have public support to justify our case! Support your community on Staten Island and sign our petition!

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/NatlGridGoingGreen/