Pittsburgh, Home of the Gas App

The economic benefits of natural gas development in the Marcellus and Utica shale formation are significant, but like the reserves deep beneath us, they seem to be a relatively invisible part of the Pittsburgh region’s transformation.

For many, the contributions of natural gas and related industries compete for attention: We see a continuing drumbeat of reports that tout our ever-advancing amenities and quality of life, and when we hear about Marcellus and Utica, it’s often about whether the gas industry is paying its fair share to the government, or arguments about drilling, or voices that oppose any energy development that isn’t wind or solar.

Our region’s emergence as one of the world’s leading energy centers — sitting atop the planet’s second-largest gas reserve — is established, but gas development is just part of the opportunity before us. What’s the rest of the formula that could unlock even more growth and diversification of our economy and community? How can we fully realize the potential of the shale gas phenomenon?

Let’s consider what’s unfolding above ground. Our region has been discovered by the leading technology companies in the world. General Electric, Google, Apple and Uber all are making significant investments and growing their presence here. We enjoy an attractive cost of living, world-class medical institutions and universities, low crime rates, champion sports franchises, world-renowned art and theater, scenic rivers and beautiful parks — all intermingled with a warm and welcoming people who truly care about their neighbors. The secret that is Pittsburgh is out.

Pittsburgh now has a median age younger than the U.S. national average. We are listed as one of the most literate cities in the United States and among the top three major cities in percentage of people with advanced degrees. City neighborhoods written off years ago are being revitalized with amazing restaurants, specialty shops and new housing. Bike lanes are popping up everywhere, while riverfront trails connect runners and bikers with more and more neighborhoods, and our rivers are more alive than ever.

While some of us struggle with all this change, the fact is this is just the beginning: I believe we’re poised for the most significant economic renaissance Pittsburgh has ever seen.

Against this backdrop, most discussion of our energy opportunity is about supply: gas development and distribution. But with all of our commercial, academic, government, investment and community assets, we also should be asserting a vision for the demand side of gas.

We should be applying our region’s brainpower to creating the technologies that rapidly advance the adoption of natural gas to fuel a range of new uses and applications. Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia can be the setting for a continuously and ever-evolving stream of the latest natural gas innovation, demonstrations and applications — for a “world’s fair” of gas apps, if you will.

There are ongoing efforts to attract cracker plants and other petrochemical-processing facilities that use gas and related hydrocarbons as feed stock to make value-added products. And we also should encourage other manufacturing industries to locate and grow here based on the attractive economics of locally sourced gas to power their plants and production. But, while these uses for gas are critical — and potentially high-volume — we can aspire to even more.

What if we decided to lead in new-technology solutions to power the trucks, boats and trains that move people and goods? To rapidly expand cleaner, gas-driven electricity generation and more efficient buildings, and enable advanced manufacturing technologies?

Recently, U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz signed a memorandum of understanding with Mayor Bill Peduto to partner with Pittsburgh on energy innovation. The event took place in the Lower Hill at the new Energy Innovation Center — where business, academic, research and other organizations pursue the next generation of energy ideas and technologies. The mayor, university presidents, our utility companies and local business leaders are working together to make real this vision of energy innovation.

Natural gas applications should play a prominent role in these efforts. Having so much cheap and clean energy right beneath our feet gives us a natural economic advantage that cannot be replicated.

Already, there are initiatives underway in the city to create micro grids that use gas turbines to power and heat our built environment. Whether it’s a manufacturing plant, hospital or university campus, this application of cleaner, low-cost natural gas — combined with fuel cells, solar panels and wind turbines — will help us improve energy efficiency and reduce our carbon footprint.

Rapid development of demand-side natural gas technologies also would support pricing for gas and help increase profits across our business landscape. The resulting capital growth would add even more re-investment and momentum — and expanding employment opportunities — for our regional and national economies.

Environmental considerations also must be top of mind. So this mission should include the pursuit of inventive solutions to make the entire natural gas development system as environmentally safe as possible. The Pittsburgh region could, for example, pioneer further breakthroughs in the processing and recycling of water and chemicals used in gas drilling, or in emissions-detection systems.

Our region and its leaders have a history of bold, optimistic vision and a pioneering spirit that yields game-changing technologies. Now we have the gas and, if we put our minds to it, we can become a leading source of the ideas and engineering that increase its use. It all adds up to a bright future that can get even brighter, and cleaner, for generations to come.

By Morgan K. O'Brien

Article originally published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on October 25, 2015