New base 14 june 2021 energy news issue 1438 by khaled al awad-compressed

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NewBase Energy News 14 June 2021 - Issue No. 1438 Senior Editor Eng. Khaled Al Awadi
NewBase for discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE
Qatar the King of LNG Undercuts Rivals to Keep Dominating
World Market
Bloomberg - Anna Shiryaevskaya , Stephen Stapczynski
The world’s top exporter of liquefied natural gas is ramping up production dramatically and
undercutting competitors in a bid to squeeze them out the market.
Qatar is dropping prices and pushing ahead with a $29 billion project to boost its exports of the fuel
by more than 50%, stymieing the prospects of new plants elsewhere. It’s also established a trading
team to compete in the nascent spot market and pushing into Asia more aggressively, according to
people familiar with the matter.
The strategy marks a shift for Qatar, which has barely raised production in the past five years and
traditionally prioritized prices over market share. Increased competition, especially from the U.S.
and Australia, has forced the Persian Gulf state to become more nimble and attract buyers in Asia,
a hot spot for gas demand.

The global transition to renewable energy is adding to the country’s sense of urgency. While LNG
was until recently touted as a bridge from coal and oil to the likes of solar and wind power, it’s falling
out of favor with some governments as they step up efforts to slow climate change.
“Qatar’s expansion plan is so huge that there are questions on the need for other supply options,”
said Julien Hoarau, head of EnergyScan, the analytics unit of the French utility Engie SA. “It’s still
the number one, but the U.S. has never been so close, so Qatar needed to move if it wanted to
keep its leading position.”
The U.S. came close to overtaking Qatar’s monthly exports for the first time in April, while Australia
has been neck-in-neck with the Middle Eastern nation for the last year, according to ship-tracking
data compiled by Bloomberg. As Gulf Coast projects develop, the U.S. is slated to briefly become
the world’s top supplier by 2024, before Qatar regains that status later in the decade, according to
BloombergNEF.
Several factors are playing into Qatar’s hands. China, one of the fastest growing LNG markets, has
been reluctant to import more from the U.S. or Australia due to trade and geopolitical tensions. But
Qatar’s main advantage is that it has the world’s lowest production costs thanks to an abundance
of easy-to-extract gas, most of it contained in the giant North Field that extends into Iran.
Bonds Coming
Qatar’s state energy company, which may soon sell up to $10 billion of bonds to fund the gas
expansion, said the project will be viable even with oil at $20 a barrel, 70% less than current levels.
LNG contracts are typically linked to oil.
That’s enabling Qatar Petroleum to set pricing below what other exporters can manage, according
to traders. The firm has sold LNG in recent months at around 10% of Brent crude prices, including
to China and Pakistan, whereas it used to set the level at 15%.
“Nobody can compete with Qatari costs,” said Jonathan Stern, a senior research fellow at the Oxford
Institute of Energy Studies. “They can do whatever they like and everybody will have to respond the
way they can. And, especially when the market is in surplus and prices are low, that will impact the
competition’s profits.”

QP executives have jetted across Asia over the past few months to ink export deals. Their efforts
led in March to a 10-year contract with Beijing-based Sinopec, signed at 10%-10.19% of Brent.
Qatar’s Ministry of Energy and QP didn’t respond to requests for comment. A few years ago,
demand for LNG was projected to rise steeply over the coming decades. Gas emits less carbon
dioxide than most other fossil fuels when it’s burned, while renewable-energy projects were still too
expensive to power electricity grids, factories and transport on a mass scale.
But solar and wind technology is improving faster than expected, helped in part by massive
government green-spending programs triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
We’re Not Afraid
Even as Qatar seeks to make the most of its assets, there are obstacles to it reaching total domination. Many
buyers want a diverse group of suppliers. Russia’s Yamal LNG project and the planned Arctic LNG 2 plant,
led by Novatek PJSC, are among those that will remain competitive as Qatar ramps up exports, according
to analysts at Citigroup Inc.
The biggest U.S. LNG exporter, Cheniere Energy Inc., said it’s unperturbed by Qatar’s moves. Some
importers are attracted by American firms offering more flexible delivery terms and pricing that’s not tied to
oil, which has soared almost 30% this year.
“We’re not afraid,” Cheniere’s Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin told investors this month. “We’re part
of a sort of diversification of the supply and contracting structure along with Qatar Petroleum and our friends
at Novatek.”
Yet U.S. projects are among those most likely to struggle. At least 10, five of them in Texas and four in
Louisiana, probably won’t secure enough financing to be completed, according to analysis from
BloombergNEF.
Feedstock costs are part of the problem. American companies have to buy gas at around $2.50 per million
British thermal units, way above Qatar’s wellhead prices of $0.30 or lower.
Projects At Risk
At least 10 U.S. LNG plants are unlikely to secure financing, according to BNEF
New suppliers in the U.S. need spot LNG prices to be at least $7.80 per million Btu in Asia and
$6.80 in Europe, said David Thomas, an independent adviser and former head of LNG at Vitol, the
world’s largest independent oil trader. For comparison, Asian rates have averaged about $6.80 over
the last five years. The economics for producers in Australia and Africa are similar, Thomas said.
The lack of new supply from other countries will benefit Qatar, Energy Minister Saad Al-Kaabi, who
is also chief executive officer of QP,
said in an interview with Bloomberg
in February. “Our expansion is very
timely,” he said.
“The Qatari strategy appears to be
maintaining its global market share
and also maximizing sales, before
the gas market starts to shrink,”
OIES’s Stern said. “It is a competitive
and strategic rush. They recognize
LNG demand will eventually decline
as the world moves forward in the
energy transition.”

U.A.E: Dubai to add 600MW of clean energy capacity in 2021
The National - Fareed Rahman
Emirate aims to generate 75% of its total power from clean energy sources by 2050, Dubai is
planning to add 600 megawatts of clean energy capacity in 2021 through new solar installations
amid plans to boost its renewable energy capacity.
The emirate will also commission the first stage of the 300MW fifth phase of the Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in July, Dubai Media Office said on Sunday, citing a statement from
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.
The entity will also commission the world's tallest concentrated solar power tower at 262.44 metres
with a capacity of 100MW in September and 200MW from the parabolic trough as part of the fourth
phase of the solar park by the end of 2021.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is located about 50 kilometres south of Dubai.
With the addition of new plants, Dewa’s total clean energy capacity will increase to 1,613MW from
1,013MW currently. Clean energy capacity in Dubai's energy mix will be about 10 per cent in July
and 12 per cent by the end of the year.
“The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is one of Dewa’s key projects to achieve this
vision and increase the share of clean and renewable energy capacity in Dubai’s energy mix,” said
Saeed Al Tayer, managing director & chief executive of Dewa.
“This supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which aims to provide 75 per cent of Dubai’s
total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.”
Many countries across the world are building new, renewable energy projects to reduce emissions.
Costs have also come down, prompting countries to take up new projects.
Dewa's major projects, which are based on the independent power producer model, attracted about
Dh40 billion ($10.8bn) in investment, Mr Al Tayer said.

The amount of power generated from renewable energy in the UAE will increase to 21 per cent in
2030 and 44 per cent by 2050, from 7 per cent last year, as more new projects come online,
according to Rystad Energy.
Abu Dhabi is also developing new, renewable energy projects including the world’s largest solar
plant at Al Dhafra with a total capacity of 2 gigawatts as part of the UAE's efforts to increase clean
energy capacity.
A consortium led by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, or Taqa, and Masdar, in partnership with
France’s EDF Renewables and China's JinkoPower, is building the new plant that is expected to be
fully operational next year.
UAE’s renewable energy capacity set to increase to 9GW by 2025
The UAE’s renewable energy capacity is set to increase four-fold to about 9 gigawatts (GW) by the
end of 2025 as the country starts new projects to diversify its energy mix, according to Rystad
Energy.
“Solar PV (photo voltaic) additions are going to pile up, especially from 2022, and drive the country’s
total renewable capacity to an impressive 9GW by the end of 2025,” the Oslo-based consultancy
said in a new report. The UAE's total renewable capacity reached 2.3GW at the end of 2020.
Four new projects, which are in various stages of development, will drive this growth, the report
said. The biggest is the 2GW Al Dhafra solar scheme in Abu Dhabi as well as new projects in Dubai
and the Northern Emirates.
A consortium led by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and Masdar, in partnership with
France’s EDF Renewables and China's JinkoPower, is building the Al Dhafra plant, which is the
world's largest solar power project.
Taqa will own 40 per cent of the Al Dhafra project, while Masdar, EDF Renewables and JinkoPower
will each have a 20 per cent stake. The plant is expected to become fully operational in 2022 and
will generate enough electricity for about 160,000 homes across the UAE.
Dubai currently has more than 1GW of installed capacity, all of which comes from the Mohammed
Bin Rashid Solar Park’s three existing phases. Two more – a 200MW concentrated solar power and
a 900MW solar photovoltaic scheme, are currently in development.
Dubai exceeded a long-term green energy
target for 2020 in June, increasing the share of
renewables in the emirate’s energy mix to
nearly 9 per cent, according to the report.
Abu Dhabi, on the other hand, has set a target
of 5.6GW of solar PV capacity by 2026 and its
current installed capacity stands at 1.3GW, with
the Noor Abu Dhabi and Shams solar projects
contributing most to the emirate’s renewable
energy capacity. “Despite the Covid-19 shock,
the government has provided a reasonable
amount of investment to continue ongoing projects,” Gaurav Metkar, senior analyst at Rystad
Energy, said. “[The] UAE has already attracted big international players in the renewable sector, a
healthy sign for future business.” The UAE is also home to one of the lowest tariffs in the world,
with solar prices declining by more than 76 per cent in the past four years.

GCC gas demand for power generation on the rise, says report
Trade Arabia + NewBase
Gas demand for power generation consumed above 13 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2020,
representing almost 50% of the total demand in the Gulf countries. It is expected that this demand
will increase by 14% by 2029, according a report by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics
company.
According to GlobalData, the transition from oil to gas for less carbon-intensive power generation
has begun in the region. In Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, gas demand for power is set to increase by
15% and 19% respectively by 2030.
The UAE relies on non-hydrocarbon sources of power for its generation growth. The country is
expected to supply over 20% of its energy demand with nuclear and renewable sources by the end
of the decade, it stated.
While key countries in the GCC, such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, choose to exploit their large gas
reserves as a strategy for supplying future demand, others such as the UAE have commenced their
transition to a less carbon-intensive energy strategy, adopting nuclear and renewables over gas to
fuel power demand growth, according to GlobalData.
With a share of almost 50%, power generation clearly drives the demand for gas in the GCC and
with an expected increase of above 14% in gas demand by the end of the decade, there is nothing
to indicate that this trend will change in the coming years, it stated.

It is expected that countries that have had oil as their main source of power generation will see
continued switching to gas for less carbon-intensive power generation. This is true for Saudi Arabia
and Kuwait as both countries expect increases in gas demand for power generation of 15% and
19%, respectively, by 2030, the report added.
Santiago Varela, Oil & Gas Analyst at GlobalData, said: "With a forecast increase of 10% in market
share, gas continues to consolidate in the power mix of Saudi Arabia and that share is expected to
reach 60% by 2030." "However, further upstream gas developments may support faster switching
to gas, providing additional demand growth," he noted.
"However, not all members of the GCC share the same strategy to fulfil their growing power
demand. The UAE is close to achieving gas self-sufficiency and is investing in alternative energy
sources to support the increasing power demand in the long term," stated Varela.
Despite a growing trend in power demand, major nuclear and renewable energy projects may limit
gas demand for power over the coming decade, he pointed out. In this regard, the first nuclear
plant in the UAE came online after nine years of construction and three more are under construction,
each one will have a capacity of 1.4 GWh, he added.
Until April 2021, the UAE was the country with the largest nuclear capacity under construction after
China.
Varela said: "This strategy will undoubtedly have immediate implications on several fronts. In the
short term, it calls into question the gas projects in the country that await the green light. While in
the long term, it also puts at risk the contract of pipeline gas with Qatar."
"Even though within the GCC countries the strategies on their future power mix may vary, the global
tendency to less carbon-intensive power generation does not escape the region. With large gas
reserves, each country evaluates how to exploit them with major new projects," he noted.
"However, for those countries which lack significant export capacity, the potential to maximize their
use is likely to depend significantly on internal demand, mainly from the power sector," he added.-

India: Vestas secures 101 MW order to extend wind project
Source: Vestas
Vestas has secured a 101 MW order from ReNew Power, one of India’s leading Renewable Energy
Independent Power Producers (IPP). The order is an extension of ReNew’s existing project in Kutch,
Gujarat, where Vestas had previously supplied turbines totalling to 250 MW. Vestas has also
supplied turbines of 100 MW to another one of ReNew’s projects in Taralkatti, Karnataka.
The contract includes supply and supervision of 46 V120-2.2 MW turbines as well as a 10-year
Active Output Management (AOM) 5000 service agreement, designed to maximise energy
production for the project. With a yield-based availability guarantee, Vestas will provide ReNew
Power with (long-term) business case certainty.
'We are very happy to place a another order on Vestas for the extension of our existing project”, says
Balram Mehta, COO, ReNew Power. 'Vestas is one of the most reliable players in the wind OEM
space, we hope that yield-based availability guarantee will ensure greater efficiency in operating the
wind turbines and ensure that any downtime is reduced to a minimum.'
'ReNew has always preferred reliable and financially strong partners, which is reflected in their
successful record of accomplishing the largest fleet of operating wind turbines in India', says
Vickram Jadhav, Vice President of Sales for Vestas India.
'We take this opportunity to thank ReNew for selecting Vestas as their partner in this project. This
order helps Vestas to participate in the sustainable growth of the Indian wind market which is going
to be one of the largest wind energy markets in the world.'
Deliveries are expected to begin in the last quarter of 2021, while commissioning is planned to take
place between December 2021 and first quarter of 2022.

India’s $7 Billion Bet to Turn a Fifth of Its Gasoline Green
Bloomberg - Debjit Chakraborty
India is set to spend almost $7 billion to boost ethanol production as it prepares to roll out a greener
mix of gasoline that may cut its dependence on foreign oil.
About 10 billion liters of ethanol will be required each year to meet the 20% ethanol-blended fuel
standard by 2025, India’s Oil Secretary Tarun Kapoor said in an interview with Bloomberg Television
on Friday.
That’s triple the amount of ethanol that’ll go into the mix as compared to the year ending November
2021, when ethanol constitutes 9% of blended gasoline, he said. The move will require about 500
billion rupees of investment to build new bio-refineries.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi advanced the nation’s target of making gasoline
with 20% ethanol by five years to 2025 in a move that’s expected to save $4 billion annually. It’ll
also expand the use of renewable energy in the world’s third-biggest oil importer and help turn the
nation’s surplus rice and damaged food grains into ethanol.
While most of India’s ethanol output is currently made from sugarcane molasses, the South Asian
nation is pushing for greater production from non-sugar sources that make up less than 10% of
current supplies, Kapoor said. Its government is offering financial assistance for setting up
distillation units that rely on molasses and grains as raw material.
“Moving along, we will have to reach a stage where 50% is sugar-based and 50% grained based,”
he said.—

NewBase June 14-2021 Khaled Al Awadi
NewBase for discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE
Oil prices climb as demand outlook improves, supplies tighten
Reuters + NewBase
Oil prices rose on Monday, extending three weeks of gains that have been underpinned by an
improved outlook for fuel demand as increased COVID-19 vaccinations help lift travel curbs, along
with tightness in supply.
Brent crude was up 65 cents, or 0.89%, at $73.34 a barrel by 08.34 GMT, the highest since May
2019.
Oil price special
coverage

U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 47 cents, or 0.7%, to $71.38 a barrel, the highest since
October 2018.
Motor vehicle traffic is returning to pre-pandemic levels in North America and much of Europe, and
more planes are in the air as anti-coronavirus lockdowns and other restrictions are being eased,
driving three weeks of increases for the oil benchmarks.
"In the short term the oil market may be volatile with frequent pull-backs as crude prices are
beginning to struggle as demand in Europe and India faces headwinds," said Avtar Sandu, senior
manager commodities at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"The major trend is, however, still intact and deep pullbacks would provide opportunities for buying
the dips," he said.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known as OPEC+, need
to increase output to meet recovering demand, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its
monthly report on Friday.
The OPEC+ group has been restraining production to support prices after the pandemic wiped out
demand in 2020, maintaining strong compliance with agreed targets in May. read more
"OPEC+ needs to open the taps to keep the world oil markets adequately supplied," the IEA said.
Goldman Sachs said last week it expects Brent to rise to $80 per barrel this summer as the rollout
of inoculations boosts economic activity around the world. read more
U.S. oil rigs in operation rose by six to 365, the highest since April 2020, energy services company
Baker Hughes Co said in its weekly report.
It was the biggest weekly increase of oil rigs in a month, as drilling companies sought to benefit from
rising demand.

NewBase Special Coverage
The Energy world – June - 14- -2021
Is Your Gas Stove Destroying the Planet?
Cooking over a flame is a tiny contributor to climate change, but supplying homes and businesses
with natural gas is a big one. By Justin Fox
Of the natural gas burned in American homes, just 2.8% is used for cooking, according to a 2015
survey by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Gas Stoves Don’t Use a Lot of Gas
U.S. residential natural gas consumption by end use, 2015

Residential natural-gas use in turn makes up just 15% of total U.S. consumption, a percentage that
has fallen over the past decade as (1) natural gas passed coal to become the country’s main power-
plant fuel and (2) residential gas use held more or less steady, as it has since the mid-1970s.
Home kitchens thus account for about 0.4% of U.S. natural gas use. Burning natural gas was
responsible for an estimated 36% of U.S. carbon-dioxide emissions in 2020, so residential natural-
gas cooking’s share of those emissions comes in at less than 0.2%. That’s not a lot!
Gas cooking does, however, seem likely to be the biggest obstacle to the effort to electrify the
American home in the name of slowing climate change.
Why’s that? Mainly because people (myself included) like cooking with gas! It’s one of the few
energy uses that inspires brand loyalty to the fuel consumed. A 2019 survey by E Source, a utility-
consulting firm spun off from the decarbonization-focused Rocky Mountain Institute, found
that only 21% of those with gas cooking equipment would consider replacing it with electric.
Americans appear to be much less attached to their natural-gas space heaters and water heaters.
Because these heaters are responsible for more than 90% of home natural gas use, replacing them
with electric heaters and heat pumps really could have a significant impact on global warming. It
would also leave little economic rationale for maintaining a vast distribution network to pipe natural
gas into homes just for cooking. For gas utilities fretting about the future, gas stoves are
thus a wedge issue to galvanize opposition to the electrification of everything else.
How Gas Went From Clean to Dirty
Until quite recently, natural gas was seen mainly as an ally in the fight against climate change. It
was the cleaner-burning, lower-carbon transition fuel that could keep the economy running as coal
and oil faded but before renewables-generated electricity and perhaps hydrogen were ready to take
over.

To some extent this is exactly what has happened. The transition from coal to gas in electric power
generation has been the single biggest cause of the 15% drop in estimated U.S. C02
emissions since 2007. Meanwhile, gas appliances may actually produce lower C02 emissions than
electric ones right now in much of the country, because 60% of U.S. electricity is still generated by
burning gas and coal, and gas-fired power plants are less efficient at converting fuel into energy
than gas-powered home heaters are.
This last advantage will disappear as the share of electricity generated by emission-free wind and
solar continues to grow. Research in recent years has also revealed much leakage of methane
— the main component of natural gas and a more potent, albeit shorter-lived, greenhouse gas than
C02 — from drilling operations, distribution networks and home uses, tarnishing natural gas’s
reputation as a clean fuel. Plus, it’s in the nature of a “transition fuel” that some people will
immediately start looking to transition away from it.
One of the first big steps in this direction came in the gas-rich Netherlands, where in 2018 the
government announced plans to rapidly phase out natural gas production and use. In the U.S. the
action has so far been more modest and mainly local, with the city of Berkeley, California, banning
gas hookups in July 2019 for most new buildings, and several other heavily Democratic cities
following suit or considering it. In response, some majority-Republican state legislatures have
passed laws banning such local bans.
Who Cooks With Gas
The battle over gas stoves may not play out along standard blue-state, red-state lines, though.
About 35% of U.S. homes used natural gas for cooking in 2019, according to the Census Bureau’s
biennial American Housing Survey. While the survey’s geographical coverage is too spotty to allow
for definitive pronouncements about regional differences, its breakdown for the 15 biggest
metropolitan areas shows a lot more gas cooking going on in blue states than in red or purple ones.

Much of this is historical contingency. The neighboring Los Angeles and Riverside metropolitan
areas have the highest share of natural gas cooking in part because Southern California is riddled
with giant oil fields that produced natural gas as an at-first-useless byproduct. Older cities in the
East and Midwest have a lot of housing stock that predates the post-World War II triumph of the
electric stove. The South has far more all-electric homes than anywhere else in the country
because the housing stock is newer and milder winter temperatures made electric heat pumps a
more economical choice than natural-gas furnaces (advances in heat-pump technology are starting
to make them a viable alternative in colder climes as well, but that’s a recent development).
Still, consumer preferences are a factor too. I haven’t found data to back this up, but my impression
from personal experience is that affluent, educated suburbanites are the people most likely to have
large, expensive gas ranges. They’re also becoming more likely to vote Democratic, meaning
that the people most emotionally attached to gas cooking have been voting for the politicians most
likely to ban gas hookups. It will be fascinating to see how this sorts itself out in coming years. Will
people change their cooking preferences to match their political allegiances, or the other way
around?
Environmental groups are doing what they can to sour their affluent liberal constituencies on gas.
The Rocky Mountain Institute, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Mothers Out Front and the
Sierra Club put out a report last year on the dangers of indoor air pollution from gas
cooking. Appearing on TBS’s “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” this month, lead author Brady
Seals of RMI summed up: “Gas stoves emit a lot of the same pollutants that come from your car
tailpipe.” She also put in a plug for electric induction stoves: “It’s sort of like the Tesla of cooking,
because you’re boiling water in half the time.”
Mixed Signals From Utilities
In response to that report, the American Gas Association, which represents gas utilities, put out
a fact sheet asserting that, among other things, “switching to electrical appliances is not a useful
strategy to address indoor air quality because the emissions of concern are dominated by the smoke
and grease that comes from cooking, regardless of the energy source.” My own experience with
burning things in the kitchen leads me to believe that there is truth to this, although certain indoor
pollutants — nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde — are in fact linked mainly to
gas cooking.
While the AGA has been vociferous in its opposition to the home-electrification movement, not all
of its members are so committed. A recent Wall Street Journal article on the local gas-hookup
bans featured an eyebrow-raising quote from Jan Berman, director of energy strategy and
innovation at Northern California’s PG&E Corp.: “We welcome the opportunity to avoid investments
in new gas assets that might later prove to be underutilized as decarbonization efforts progress here
in California.”
The E in PG&E stands for electric, and for utilities like it that deliver both electricity and gas, home
electrification isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, an all-electric network might be a lot easier to
manage. Southern California Gas, the Sempra Energy division that is the nation’s largest gas
utility, reported spending nearly three times as much on operations and maintenance in 2020 as
on buying natural gas. By contrast, electric utility Southern California Edison, a division of Edison
International, spent about a third less on operations and maintenance than on power and fuel.
This difference doesn’t really have an effect on the companies’ bottom lines, since regulators allow
them to pass both fuel and maintenance costs on to consumers. But with safety demands on gas
utilities being ratcheted up every time there’s a major explosion or leak, and residential gas demand

flat even before the new electrification push, it does seem conceivable that the time will come when
society is no longer willing to pay the cost of maintaining vast urban networks of aging pipes filled
with explosive gas.
Then again, SoCalGas is hoping we’ll just fill them with another explosive gas. The company has
proposed experimenting with conveying hydrogen through its pipes, as well as building an “H2
Hydrogen Home” with an electrolyzer to convert solar energy into hydrogen, a fuel cell to convert
the hydrogen back to electricity and appliances that run on a blend of hydrogen and natural
gas. Hydrogen emits water when burned, not greenhouse gases, and holds promise as a way to
store power for long periods. It will also require stronger pipes and more careful monitoring than
natural gas to prevent leaks and explosions. Regulators seem unsure as to whether the investment
would be worthwhile.
Cooking With Something Other Than Natural Gas
So hydrogen cooking may or may not be an option in the future. A simpler alternative for those
committed to cooking over flames could be the propane canisters used in gas grills and
inside nearly six million American homes, although that will be problematic in cities such as New
York where fire codes ban their use in most buildings, and would certainly be less convenient
than piped natural gas.
The bigger question may be whether gas really does cook better, or whether consumer loyalty to it
is based mainly on less-tangible factors. Electric ranges reached their peak market share in the U.S.
in the 1970s and 1980s, and the subsequent renaissance of gas was probably at least partly a
backlash against electric’s suburban-subdivision ubiquity.

Gas stoves were also closely identified with the American culinary renaissance that began in the
1960s. Julia Child cooked with gas, and while her good friend James Beard did not, it was her
example that has been followed by just about every television chef since. Mississippi-based Viking
Range Corp. built its first stove in 1986, and before long Vikings and similar luxury gas stoves
became must-haves for well-off foodies.
I’ve left restaurants out of this account so far, but gas has of course long been the default in
professional kitchens. Going by the EIA’s most recent survey of energy consumption in
commercial buildings, they use more than four times as much natural gas as home kitchens. (Put
commercial and residential cooking together and it adds up to just over 2% of U.S. natural gas
consumption.)
If the pros use gas it must be better, right? Well … when Consumer Reports looked through its
range reviews in 2019, it concluded that, “in most cases, electric ranges outperform their gas
counterparts.” Electric stovetops were better than gas for both high-heat and low-heat cooking,
while electric ovens were better for broiling and gas ones better for baking. Not exactly what you’d
expect!
The most obvious strength of gas burners is that they respond instantaneously when you adjust the
heat, a quality not evaluated in that particular Consumer Reports article. The article also ignored
“the Tesla of cooking,” the induction stove, because its market share remains tiny. But induction
stoves, which work by transferring energy directly to cookware via a magnetic field, offer
instantaneous response too. “No other cooking technology that we’ve tested is faster than the
fastest induction elements,” Consumer Reports concluded elsewhere. Induction also uses less
energy than other cooking technologies.
Cooking on an induction stove, which I’ve done a few times, is disconcerting at first. The “burners”
don’t get hot, and while the responsiveness is great you don’t get the same visual cues as with gas.
Still, I’m pretty sure my next stove will be induction. Climate change and cooking quality
are secondary considerations: I have a penchant for leaving burners on and forgetting about it that
certainly isn’t going to get better as I get older, and with an induction stove that’s far less likely to
lead to disaster.

NewBase Energy News 14 June 2021 - Issue No. 1438 call on +971504822502, UAE
The Editor:” Khaled Al Awadi” Your partner in Energy Services
NewBase energy news is produced Twice a week and sponsored by Hawk Energy Service – Dubai, UAE.
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About: Khaled Malallah Al Awadi,
Energy Consultant
MS & BS Mechanical Engineering (HON), USA
Emarat member since 1990
ASME member since 1995
Hawk Energy member 2010
www.linkedin.com/in/khaled-al-awadi-38b995b
Mobile: +971504822502
khdmohd@hawkenergy.net or khdmohd@hotmail.com
Khaled Al Awadi is a UAE National with over 30 years of experience in the Oil & Gas
sector. Has Mechanical Engineering BSc. & MSc. Degrees from leading U.S.
Universities. Currently working as Technical Affairs Specialist for Emirates General
Petroleum Corp. “Emarat “with external voluntary Energy consultation for the GCC
area via Hawk Energy Service, as the UAE operations base. Khaled is the Founder
of NewBase Energy news articles issues, an international consultant, advisor,
ecopreneur and journalist with expertise in Gas & Oil pipeline Networks, waste
management, waste-to-energy, renewable energy, environment protection and
sustainable development. His geographical areas of focus include Middle East,
Africa and Asia. Khaled has successfully accomplished a wide range of projects in
the areas of Gas & Oil with extensive works on Gas Pipeline Network Facilities &
gas compressor stations. Executed projects in the designing & constructing of gas
pipelines, gas metering & regulating stations and in the engineering of gas/oil supply routes. Has drafted &
finalized many contracts/agreements in products sale, transportation, operation & maintenance agreements.
Along with many MOUs & JVs for organizations & governments authorities. Currently dealing for biomass
energy, biogas, waste-to-energy, recycling and waste management. He has participated in numerous
conferences and workshops as chairman, session chair, keynote speaker and panelist. Khaled is the Editor-
in-Chief of NewBase Energy News and is a professional environmental writer with more than 1400 popular
articles to his credit. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste
management and environmental sustainability in different parts of the world. Khaled has become a reference
for many of the Oil & Gas Conferences and for many Energy program broadcasted internationally, via GCC
leading satellite Channels. Khaled can be reached at any time, see contact details above.

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