The Ongoing Need for Oil and Gas

In our previous post, we highlighted some facts on green energy initiatives as well as explored some truths around electric vehicles. But we didn’t want to stop there. This post will serve as a companion piece that will address the proposed green initiative goal to be off of oil and gas within the next 10 years. As such, it will take a bit deeper dive into our current energy situation and show how UCEC innovates to make the most of these burgeoning opportunities.

The short-term problem

As everyone has no doubt noticed over the past couple of months, energy bills have been higher than normal. This can be attributed to a combination of multiple factors, including the green energy push. Without a balance in place, consumers who normally expect their bills to go up 5-10% each year, saw gas up 46%, electricity up 20%, and their overall bill up by as much as 45%. Inflation happens, but those numbers simply aren’t tenable.

And it’s not just felt at the consumer level. January was definitely cold here in Colorado, but the cost of electricity was much higher and companies weren’t using any more energy than they normally do. So, when industrial energy costs typically average about $2000 each month, they saw last month’s bill spike to $2900. Those kinds of jumps in hard costs force companies to reallocate parts of their budget.

But all of this isn’t an indictment on the shortcomings of traditional forms of energy like oil and gas as a viable, long-term solution. In fact, the spikes we’re seeing in costs are just that: spikes. Natural ebbs and flows in the market that happen all the time. Soon, we’ll see the market correct itself and those spikes will once again settle towards the mean.

Turning problems into solutions

As the costs subside, it’s important to recognize the innovation happening within the oil and gas industry. We have been working with a lot of companies that capture “bad gases” and the byproducts of oil and gas and powerplants to make something positive out of it. Our partners capture SO2 (sulfur dioxide) that flares off gases off of oil wells and repurpose it, turning it into energy. It’s a new process, but it’s quite effective as we’ve seen Bitcoin miners using it to power their endeavors.

This is part of a trend over the years of companies looking at some of the issues or problems with the older process of extracting natural gas and oil and coming up with solutions that are sustainable and good for the environment. SO2 gas is lethal, so it’s no small feat to be able to leverage something so toxic and turn it into something positive. In fact, we often hear about disasters, but the oil and gas industry has done a good job of mitigating problems. So, we’re now seeing greater solutions (like capturing waste SO2 and methane) and turning it into something useful. We’re proud to build panels for partners doing those types of initiatives as we know our innovation at UCEC mirrors what’s going on in the oil and gas industry.

Finding the best of both worlds

Most green initiatives are great when everything works, but what happens when nature doesn’t cooperate? How does an ice storm impact solar and wind? We know solar is great when the sun is out, but during winter, how much battery does it charge? It’s clear that one size doesn’t fit all. That’s why it’s crucial to adopt a hybrid approach where you have new energy as a primary source when it makes sense (i.e. relying on solar during the day when the sun is out) and traditional energy during the rest of the day. Since we know the newest tech isn’t 100% effective, hybrid is best moving forward.

For that reason, being off oil and gas in 10 years just isn’t realistic. As of now, UCEC embraces both and is committed to helping customers that are leading the way in green energy and are maintaining the technologies that have brought us this far. With that balance of the best of both worlds, we’re set to continue to deliver innovative products while maintaining the highest levels of customer service that ensure your ongoing success.

As always, you can connect with our experienced team to get a quote, ask a question, or just learn more.