A Greener Fuel… and a Greener Future?

The Pacific Northwest is blessed with a profusion of hydroelectric power and a burgeoning wind energy industry. As a result, Washington residents pay some of the lowest electric rates in the United States.

But to respond to increasing demand, the area needs new sources of energy. Enter shale gas, a form of natural gas that is embedded in shale formations throughout North America. Developers in British Columbia's Horn River region-the extreme northeastern corner of the province-have discovered one of the continent's largest shale gas fields. Researchers estimate that the Horn River Shale could hold up to 50 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, enough to meet more than 20 years of current U.S. demand.

Locked in dense shale formations, this gas was unreachable by traditional vertical wells. New horizontal drilling techniques have now rendered it accessible from dozens of massive shale gas fields across North America. As a result, natural gas prices are predicted to remain stable for years to come-a claim that other fossil fuel producers cannot match.

Natural gas releases roughly half the greenhouse gases of coal, and local utilities, including Puget Sound Energy, already depend heavily on natural-gas-fired plants to generate electricity and back up wind-dependent windmills.

"Here we have a domestic source of gas that's not running out, and it's going to be a lot cheaper," says Puget Sound Energy CEO Steve Reynolds. "That's a game-changer, both for carbon future and domestic energy supply."

There is also a downside. Abundant gas is pushing down the price of power, reducing the profits Seattle City Light earns from selling its excess hydropower for a profit-and local consumers and taxpayers will feel the sting.

Environmental activists have also questioned the sustainability of horizontal drilling, warning that it could pollute underground water.

Pending Canadian regulatory approval of a new pipeline in northern B.C., the Horn River Shale is expected to begin producing in the second quarter of 2011.

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