Yet Another Heat Pump Headache For Fossil Fuel Stakeholders

[hunter]

A new coalition of nine US states has joined forces to promote electric heat pumps, with the aim of decarbonizing thousands of buildings by pushing oil and gas out of the heating, air conditioning and hot water business. That still leaves 41 states to go, but members of the coalition anticipate that their heat pump action plan will smooth the way for others to follow. Much to the dismay of fossil energy stakeholders, HVAC industry leaders are eager to pitch in.

The Heat Pump Revolution Is Happening, Regardless Of The Weather

Prying the cold fingers of the fossil fuel industry off the global economy has been a tough row to hoe. Here in the US, it’s also been a game of whack-a-mole as a rise in natural gas activity has dampened the effect of a decline in coal production.

Greenhouse gas emissions from buildings represent a particularly hard nut to crack. Although power plants and automobiles grab much of the decarbonization spotlight, commercial and residential buildings account for a 13% share of US greenhouse gas emissions.

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https://cleantechnica.com/2024/02/09/yet-another-heat-pump-headache-for-fossil-fuel-stakeholders/

It's pretty easy to imagine a future where residential natural gas service is being abandoned, the same way residential "landline" telephone service is being abandoned now. But I don't see it as any threat to "Fossil Fuel Stakeholders." The natural gas industry will quite happily shed its residential gas customers to become LNG exporters, the suppliers of "back-up" power to the solar and wind industry, and as source of hydrogen for nitrogen fertilizers, increasingly synthetic fuels, and the chemical industry.