US gas pipelines can still be green

Upgrading pipeline network to fix leaks can also lead to ability to carry greener molecules, says report

Investments in natural gas pipeline infrastructure should be viewed as a way to transport  increasingly low-carbon molecules, according to a report from US research body the Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy. Some campaigners oppose investment in the US pipeline infrastructure for fear it will lock fossil fuels into the US energy mix. But the same pipelines can be repurposed to carry a blend of natural gas, hydrogen and biomethane, Erin Blanton, one of the authors of the report, tells Hydrogen Economist. "Pipelines could be seen as a network that carries increasingly ‘green’ molecules" Blanton, CCGEP “In the same way you can view an electricity grid as a netwo