about_natural_gas

The solution to many of our nation's current and future energy challenges lies literally under our feet: natural gas. Learn about the benefits, composition and history of natural gas, and read some natural gas fun facts. (PDF)

Benefits of Natural Gas

While natural gas may be best known for its affordability compared to other fossil fuels, there are many other benefits to using natural gas.

Environmentally friendly
Natural gas has the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per unit of energy of all fossil fuels. When natural gas is burned, it emits 45 percent less carbon dioxide than coal and 30 percent less carbon dioxide than oil on an energy equivalent basis.

Its simple chemical make-up makes natural gas clean-burning. Oil and coal, the other fossil fuels, are more chemically complex and contain higher amounts of chemicals such as carbon that are bad for the environment. Therefore, by replacing other fuels with natural gas you're contributing to a cleaner environment and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Reliable
Natural gas is a more reliable resource than other fuels. As a "homegrown" energy source, it provides one-fourth of U.S. energy needs. Eighty-five percent of the natural gas used in the United States is produced in the U.S. And, another 14 percent comes from nearby Canada.

Nicor gas owns seven underground storage fields; including the largest underground storage aquifer in the U.S. On peak days, 50 to 60 percent of your gas is delivered from storage rather than buying it for a higher cost as many gas companies without storage fields do. These storage fields help keep our costs low for you, while providing assurance that we can handle all of your energy needs on any given day.

Many uses
Natural gas is used to make electricity, and has become the number one energy source for powering new electricity-generating plants in the United States. There are many uses for natural gas in your home that you may not realize such as natural gas grills, outdoor lighting and pool heaters. Click here to read about these and other uses for natural gas around your home.

How Natural Gas is Formed

Natural gas was formed from the buried remains of tiny plants and sea animals that died more than 200 million years ago. Under the pressure and heat of built-up sand and silt – sometimes thousands of feet thick – these energy-rich materials slowly decayed until all that was left were concentrations of natural gas trapped in layers of rock.

History of Natural Gas

The nation's first gas utility was established in Baltimore, Maryland in 1816 with a mission to light the city's streets with gas made from coal. The first natural gas well was drilled five years later in Fredonia, New York. Because there were no pipelines to bring gas to homes, street lighting remained the primary use of gas throughout the 1800s.

The first pipeline was constructed in the late 1800s, but not until World War II did improvements in metals and welding make pipeline construction economical. Throughout the 1950s and '60s, the 1.4-million mile U.S. pipeline network began to take shape.

Natural gas service is now available in all 50 states, serving more than 63 million customers; and an impressive 70 percent of new single-family homes feature natural gas heat.

Source: American Gas Association

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