Why Not Do Away with New Natural Gas Hookups in Lafayette?
A residential natural gas hookup. Photo: Glenn Beltz / flickr, used under CC BY 2.0
Earlier this week, New York State proposed an across-the-board ban on new natural gas hookups, with start dates backing up to 2027. This after New York City enacted a similar ban one month prior. If a city and state of 11 million can make this work, why can’t this work for Lafayette?
Lafayette has big climate ambitions, but talk remains easier than action. The City Council enacted a plan to switch to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030 and effect an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, both compared to 2005 levels. This move would put Lafayette at the vanguard of Colorado cities seeking to clean up their grids, and is in lock-step with residents, of whom a clear majority supported banning new natural gas hookups, according to the 2021 Resident Survey available on the city website.
“Banning new residential hookups isn’t an aggressive move so much as a commonsense one.”
Natural gas use has been on a decline here for years. Lotus, the firm hired by the city to conduct a greenhouse gas inventory in 2015 (the last year of available data), noted that despite a 12 percent bump in population between 2011 and 2015, residential natural gas use actually decreased by 10 percent per housing unit (1 percent overall, when factoring in new growth). But it still accounted for 17 percent (34,782 metric tons or 76.7 million pounds) of the city’s overall CO2 emission load. Lotus expected use to continue to decrease, given the trend of warmer days (like we experienced in the final months of 2021).
In that same report, Lotus noted that “Lafayette would have to take aggressive measures to reduce the amount of [greenhouse gas] emissions.” But banning new hookups isn’t an aggressive move so much as a commonsense one.
Technology and efficiency of electric appliances and energy-conserving construction techniques have surpassed any benefit to be had from burning fuels inside our homes. Electric boilers for multi-unit dwellings, tankless water heaters and conduction stoves offer a look at the now and the near future. Lafayette should carefully investigate savings to be had from banning natural gas hookups in new residential constructions.
The savings it would capture in greenhouse gas emissions wouldn’t move the down-trending baseline for existing residences served by natural gas, but it would help our city grow smarter into our goal of a greener future.
