Assessing the Value of Natural Gas Storage

Join NWGA's July 17 webinar featuring the American Gas Association's new report, Assessing the Value of Natural Gas Storage: A Strategic Asset for Grid Reliability, System Resilience and Operational Flexibility in a Changing Energy Landscape.

As the U.S. energy landscape evolves amid changing markets, technological innovation, regulatory developments, and global trends, a comprehensive understanding of natural gas storage has never been more important. AGA’s report provides a comprehensive overview of U.S. natural gas storage, exploring its technical foundations, market structure, strategic value, and future challenges.

The report presents several recommendations for policymakers looking to address this emerging issue:

• Targeted Expansion: Storage capacity is nearing practical limits in several high-demand regions. Strategic investments in new underground and LNG facilities will be essential, particularly where capacity utilization averages at or above 90 percent. These investments should align with increasing residential loads, heightened industrial consumption and power sector needs. 

• Faster, Clearer Project Approvals: Storage projects require years to progress from concept to completion. Regulatory clarity and streamlined permitting can help eliminate bottlenecks and allow projects that provide broad system benefits to move forward more efficiently. 

• Improved Integration with Energy Planning: Storage is not always included in broader discussions about reliability, clean energy, or infrastructure planning. Incorporating natural gas storage in state and regional energy plans will help ensure its availability when needed, particularly as grid flexibility becomes increasingly important. 

• Recognition of Storage’s Full Value: Storage offers more than economic returns; it contributes to reliability, resilience, emergency preparedness and consumer protection. These broader benefits should be acknowledged regarding how storage is valued in policy, regulation and energy markets. 

• Support for Low-Carbon Pathways: Current and future natural gas storage expansion supports and enables pathways to lower greenhouse gas emissions. By enhancing energy system flexibility, storage facilitates the growth of renewable energy. Underground storage facilities can be utilized for renewable natural gas storage, enabling greater seasonal use. Future scenarios could also repurpose natural gas storage for hydrogen-ready capabilities. 

You can download the report and fact sheet here.

Presenter:

Liz Pardue is an economist and quantitative analyst with more than 16 years of experience in economic, fiscal, and energy market analysis. Before joining the American Gas Association’s Energy Markets, Analysis, and Standards team in August 2024, Liz served as the Economist for the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff, where she provided expert testimony as a cost-of-capital witness in utility regulatory proceedings. Liz serves on the Board of the Society of Utility and Regulatory Financial Analysts (SURFA) and holds SURFA’s Certified Rate of Return Analyst designation.