US natural gas statistics

In 2008 natural gas accounted for 23,8% of US primary energy consumption.

More than 50% of US homes are heated with natural gas.

It is estimated that there are around 1.3 million miles of underground gas pipelines across the United States.

In 2009 in United States, the price of natural gas was little over $4 per thousand cubic feet while in 2008 natural gas had biggest price of more than $13 per thousand cubic feet.

In 2009 United States increased its natural gas production more than any other country in the world. In fact, in 2009 US even managed to overtake Russia as the world's leading natural has producer. According to the EIA, 21 trillion cubic feet of natural gas was produced in the United States in 2009 which accounts to around 90% of total domestic natural gas consumption.

According to EIA there are 2,587 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable natural gas in the United States. U.S. natural gas reserves have been historically concentrated around Texas and the Gulf of Mexico but with the recent shale gas discovery some other US states are expected to play big role as natural gas producers such as New York, Pennsylvania, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

According to the most recent calculations US accounts for around 3 percent of the world total natural gas reserves.

It is estimated that around 59 percent of the U.S. undiscovered natural gas resources is located on federal lands and offshore waters.

The top natural gas consuming US states are Texas, California and Louisiana.

Natural gas accounts for around 21,5% of electricity generated in United States.

Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming are the top US natural gas producing states accounting to around 80% of total US natural gas production.

95 percent of U.S. natural gas imports are coming from Canada.

Five US states have around one-half of the total US natural gas reserves: Alaska, Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

If US continues with current production rates it will have enough natural gas for about a 65-year supply.

There are currently around 288,000 wells in US that are producing natural gas.

In 2008, according to the data from the Natural Gas Supply Association there were approximately four million Americans employed either directly or indirectly by the US natural gas industry.

Natural gas vs wind energy in US

US president Obama was seen by many as the main driving force that will shift US energy policy towards renewable energy sources such as wind power, but after the recent election results, it can be clearly seen that Obama is first of all politician, and not environmentalist as some hoped he is.

After being asked how will US tackle environmental issues at the post-election conference Obama suddenly started mentioning natural gas as a "terrific natural resource" for United States. This was really the last thing that wind energy sector needed, and many wind energy supporters were left bitterly disappointed, not only by Obama's latest view on energy and environment but also about the fact that US can now might as well forget about cap and trade policy.

US solar energy sector is so far looking very good but this cannot be said for wind power industry which is somewhat stagnating. The US wind power industry, despite achieving tremendous growth in the last couple of years, is still standing on shaky legs, and the last thing US wind developers need right now is more focus on natural gas.

Can natural gas really have such a negative impact on further development of wind industry in United States? The answer is yes it can.

First of all natural gas is significantly less polluting compared to coal, and in general the cleanest fossil fuel. Second, a big new shale gas discoveries are coming on line across the US. Third, natural gas can be moved easily through existing pipelines, and their is no need for new expensive transmission infrastructure, and it can be also stored in underground formations.

Wind energy desperately needs new transmission lines in many parts of the US, which comes anything but cheap. Generally speaking transmission system is the main obstacle which wind energy sector will need to overcome in order to continue its rapid growth in years to come.

Wind energy also requires adequate storage solution(s) because wind-generated electricity still cannot be stored. Wind power also suffers from intermittency because wind doesn't blow all the time.

It will be very interesting to see whether federal and state governments will ensure adequate funds to create better transmission system for wind-generated electricity.

Without big money US wind power industry will not be able to compete with natural gas, regardless of environmental benefits. Therefore, it's really no wonder that Obama has jumped on natural gas bandwagon, after all he's politician, and from political point of view natural gas currently seems as the more acceptable option.