Last year, the Petroleum Geoscience journal introduced the ‘Energy Geoscience’ Series. It aims to create a channel for the anticipated growth in non-petroleum related subject matter. In the introduction, Ringrose 2019 captures the moment. The highlights for us included:
- 2020 (± 5 years) could be viewed as a turning point for society
- The impact of our activities necessitates more responsible practices
- Fossil fuels will gradually make way for electricity as the main energy carrier
- Hybrid systems, such as gas-based power generation complementing fluctuating renewable energy sources, may secure our future power supply
- Low carbon or net zero fossil-fuel based energy will also be in focus
The commentary builds upon Ringrose 2017, which also acknowledges the role gas has to play in both reaching and achieving a low-carbon energy mix. Three main groups of low-carbon energy are identified; renewable energy, natural gas (by virtue of displacing higher CO2 emission fossil fuels) and carbon capture and storage – all of which need to be used together to achieve the necessary reduction in GHG emissions, since no single technology can solve the problem.