Background
Several different federal agencies provide funding for natural gas research and development (R&D) programs. These include: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Transportation (DOT).
AGA Viewpoint
AGA supports R&D in the following key areas:
- Natural Gas Infrastructure—work on operations and security issues, which will help ensure the reliability of the gas transmission and distribution system and will lead to technology advancements in inspection, controls, advanced sensors and pipe replacements
- Distributed Energy Resources (DER)—the strategic placement of small-scale power generation units at or near the site where the electric power will be consumed. The units are economical, efficient, and environmentally friendly because most distributed energy resource technologies use natural gas, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, increased energy efficiency equals fuel savings, which reduces emissions of pollution
- Combined Heat and Power (CHP)—an innovative group of technologies known collectively as “combined heat and power” (CHP) produce electricity or mechanical power, and then recycle the exhaust heat for other uses such as steam, space-heating and cooling, water-heating or dehumidification
AGA Contact: Christina Sames, (202) 824-7214, csames@aga.org