National Grid vows no fossil fuels, more 'green' gas, by 2050

National Grid said it will eliminate fossil fuels from its gas distribution networks by 2050, turning instead to "greener" gas fuels as part of a "net-zero" emissions future that includes more efficiently sealed buildings and "hybrid" heat that's both electric and gas. 

But critics were skeptical, saying the vision chiefly sustains National Grid's gas business while compromising climate goals.

In a newly released vision for "Fossil Free Heat" set for release Tuesday, National Grid is proposing to transition to "green" hydrogen and biogas to replace traditional natural gas on its distribution systems in New York and Massachusetts by 2050 or sooner. 

The plan also calls for sealing up buildings to reduce waste, and to support a "hybrid" approach to heating that allows buildings to continue to burn green gas while supplementing it with new electricity-based heat pumps, which are more efficient.

National Grid called its vision "more manageable" than a state goal that foresees all-electric heating by 2050. The company said its plan could be more affordable, given that some heat-pump systems can cost upward of $30,000, and increase grid reliability by reducing stress on generation sources. 

"While converting to [all-]electric heating may be viable for some customers, others may have challenges due to the upfront cost of making this switch or the difficulty of retrofitting their building," National Grid's plan states. 

Environmental and green-energy backers were quick to criticize National Grid's plan as self-serving, saying that sustaining the company's fortunes would come at the expense of prolonging the climate crisis. 

"This plan is another bait-and-switch tactic that would just extend our use of fossil fuel infrastructure and generate investment for National Grid," said Timothy Karcich, an organizer for Suffolk County Democratic Socialists of America, an activist group.

Billii Roberti, a green-energy expert at Green Choices Consulting in Huntington Station, said use of green hydrogen and biogas represents "false solutions. They're attempts by the fossil-fuel gas companies to stay viable in a changing world that's requiring renewables."

Rudy Wynter, president of National Grid's New York business, said the company's vision isn't so much a break with the path envisioned in state climate law, but rather a "sharing [of our] analysis" with the state as it begins a scoping process to enact climate-law mandates. 

"We do believe this gets us to a cleaner energy future in New York," Wynter said of National Grid's plan. The company is "offering an alternative pathway that balances affordability, customer choice and reliability."

But Ryan Madden, sustainability organizer for the Long Island Progressive Coalition, an activist group that supports the an all-electric heating plan for the state, called National Grid's Fossil-Free Heat vision "cynical, disingenuous and a perpetuation of the same climate denial the fossil-fuel industry has been pedaling for decades." 

“It’s a series of half measures and false solutions to maintain their economic power rather than make the necessary changes we know we need to move away from fossil fuels for the health of people and the plant,” Madden said. 

Wynter noted National Grid is "much more than a gas distribution business," with holdings in battery storage and offshore wind. The company also owns most Long Island power plants, which would be phased out by 2040 as the state mandates carbon-free electric generation by that point. 

National Grid's plan calls for "support" of customers as they move toward advanced new electric heating systems by providing “strategies and tools to capture and maximize the benefits of pairing electric heat pumps with their existing gas-heating appliances.” The company also said it would support “targeted” electrification of its gas network, including use of geothermal systems for heating and cooling.

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.