Indiana natural gas bill would redefine the fossil fuel as green energy
Natural gas and propane — long considered contributors to climate change — could soon be redefined in Indiana as lawmakers push to lump the gasses in with solar, wind and other non-fossil fuels so they also qualify for state and federal green energy funding.
Sen. Jim Buck, R-Kokomo, introduced Senate Bill 178 that, if passed, will allow natural gas and propane the same status as renewable energy sources when applying federal money to clean or green energy projects.
The bill passed committee and is waiting for a vote on the Senate floor.
Natural gas is a euphemism given to methane and is a 'powerful greenhouse gas,' according to NASA. The gas is more powerful than carbon dioxide when it's released and traps heat in the Earth's atmosphere.
Burning methane produces less carbon dioxide than coal, but a report from the International Energy Agency says the gas is responsible for about 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the late 1700s.
Indiana law currently defines methane as a clean source of energy only when it is replacing coal for power generation. Buck's bill would expand that definition to include all uses of methane and propane.
Gabe Filippelli, executive director of the Environmental Resilience Institute and professor of earth sciences at Indiana University, called the attempt to redefine methane as a clean energy 'bogus.'
'They already won one battle by calling it natural gas when it's fossil gas, it's methane,' Filippelli said. 'I'm not going to gladly let them win another PR assault on common sense.'
Buck said he fashioned his bill after an Ohio law that similarly defined methane as clean energy.
The Ohio bill redefining methane as clean was allegedly backed by The Empowerment Alliance, a dark money group with ties to the gas industry, and the anonymously funded American Legislative Exchange Council, according to a Washington Post report.
Buck is on ALEC's board of directors.
Propane was added to the bill as an amendment after the Indiana Propane Gas Association approached Buck about the original bill.
'I know they use propane in some trucks and other equipment, and it is classified under the EPA as clean energy,' Buck said.
Propane is a fossil fuel and produces more carbon dioxide emissions than natural gas when burned, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Manufacturing and oil lobbyists supported the bill during a committee hearing earlier in February.
Maureen Ferguson, with the American Petroleum Institute, told lawmakers that 'all of the above' energy sources must be used for continuing Indiana's goals to supply reliable and affordable energy. Carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector have declined due to a switch to burning methane, she said.
'By API's calculation, the newest gas-fired generators in the U.S. are more efficient and have lower emission rates – roughly 65% below that of the average coal plant,' Ferguson said.
Carlie Hopper, representing the Indiana Builders Association, said the group supported 2021 legislation that prohibited a ban on methane and sees SB178 as an extension of that legislation. Hopper echoed the all-of-the-above approach on energy sources so Hoosiers would have affordable and reliable energy.
Buck's bill is written to allow federal money to flow to natural gas projects in Indiana, but Earth Charter Indiana's Shannon Anderson told lawmakers the U.S. Department of Energy, which routinely issues federal clean energy grants, excludes natural gas from its own definition of clean energy.
Locally, Indiana and Michigan Power and AES also define clean energy as something that produces no climate warming greenhouse gasses, Anderson said.
'By and large, these definitions strongly undergird a desire to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions,' Anderson said. 'So, I would strongly suggest we adhere to this careful definition as well.'
When methane is burned, its emissions are lower than coal, but the gas is still inadvertently leaked into the air during extraction or while it's being transported through pipelines.
These leaks or releases of unburned methane are 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide for the warming potential to our planet, Filippelli said.
'Ultimately when they burn, they release CO2, which changes the climate,' Filippelli said. 'In no way, shape, or form is that anywhere near a green technology.'
IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on BlueSky @karlstartswithk.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana bill attempts to redefine this fossil fuel as clean energy
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