I assume the proposal for banning natural gas in new construction is an effort to reduce our carbon footprint. Sadly, most people don’t think about where electricity comes from.

Oregon is fortunate as it gets 39% of its electricity from hydroelectric power (they are tearing down hydroelectric dams left and right), 26% from coal, 21% from natural gas and 7% from wind and solar. Hydroelectric is nice, but it depends on rainfall, and we are experiencing increased conditions of drought. Coal and natural gas reserves will last hundreds of years.

Most of the nation’s electricity is generated by coal and natural gas power plants. Imagine railroad cars filled with coal, powdered, dumping their entire contents into a huge bin which is instantly devoured in flames and then another and another in a never-ending cycle, producing electricity. These power plants are mainly in Montana and Wyoming.

The coal heats water, the water turns to steam and drives huge turbines, electricity is transferred over thousands of miles of power lines at 46,000 volts. It then reaches transformers, dropping in voltage to be compatible for our use. Each time you change energy from one state to another is called a phase change. These changes are not 100% efficient. Usually each change is about 50% efficient, so by the time electricity gets to where we can use it, only 30% of its energy reaches us. There is a problem with electrical infrastructure.

Our present system is decades old, and with the advent of increased use of electricity, we will need to modernize the entire system, a task which is daunting.

Coal versus natural gas. Coal is almost 100% pure carbon. Natural gas is the next best thing to pure hydrogen. Natural gas has one atom of carbon and for atoms of hydrogen, it has a small carbon footprint. Natural gas is the most efficient, highest energy output in relation to the energy that is spent powering the heater. There’s only one phase change. You would have a smaller carbon footprint if you used a coal-burning stove in your house then if you used electricity to heat it.