Natural gas is the fastest growing sector of the Australia energy industry. Envestra is well placed to benefit from this growth.
Growth forecasts for natural gas
Australia has significant reserves of natural gas, estimated at 128,000 petajoules. This is equivalent to 90 years of current level annual consumption and exports.
Natural gas is Australia's fastest growing energy source, currently accounting for 18% of the country's primary energy market. It is estimated that this will increase to 24% by 2020.
Envestra is well placed to take advantage of the growth of distribution networks which will flow from this increased use of natural gas.
Environmental benefits of natural gas
The use of natural gas for cooking, water heating and space heating, can reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a significant contributor to the greenhouse effect, by up to 60% compared with other forms of energy, particularly electricity generated in coal fired power stations.
It is expected that environmental pressure will result in greater use of natural gas in homes, commercial business and industry.
Other uses for natural gas
Australia has one of the largest bus fleets in the world running on compressed natural gas. The fuel significantly reduces the amount of harmful exhaust emissions emitted compared with buses which run on diesel.
The market for natural gas as a transport fuel is steadily expanding, particularly for taxis, forklifts and courier/delivery businesses.
The installation of cogeneration plants in industrial and commercial premises is steadily increasing. These plants use gas fired reciprocating engines and turbines to produce on-site electricity and process heat, thereby reducing primary usage, energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
All of the above initiatives will increase the volume of gas transported through Envestra's distribution networks.
Energy Networks Australia website
For more information, visit the Energy Networks Australia website by clicking on the link above.
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Earnings Revision – Year ended 30 June, 2010
