A developer of solar technology claims to be able to make renewable natural gas using solar power. HyperSolar, Inc. says this technology can help reduce the need for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) used to access underground natural gas resources. The company says its renewable natural gas is a clean, carbon neutral methane gas that can be produced above ground and used as a direct replacement for traditional natural gas to power the needs of the world.
“Even though the United States has vast natural gas resources, a majority of these reserves are only accessible through fracking, a potentially environmentally-hazardous process that many environmentalists claim could contaminate our water supplies and the air we breathe,” said Tim Young, CEO of HyperSolar. “Rather than extracting difficult-to-reach fossil fuel reserves, we think that the focus should be on alternative technologies that can provide the world with affordable and clean sources of energy. We believe it is far better to consider sources of energy that are renewable instead of limited depleting resources such as coal, oil or natural gas.”
Critics claim that fracking poses a risk to both water and air quality. Their arguments are two-fold: some of the fracking fluid is left in the ground during the extraction process, contaminating the water basins, and as part of the fracking process natural gas is released into the air when excess pressure is present in the well, polluting the air with hydrocarbon and other volatile compounds.
Conversely, the HyperSolar says its technology will make pipeline ready renewable natural gas above ground without releasing any volatile compounds into the water supply or the air. The company’s renewable natural gas is truly renewable, clean and carbon neutral.
“As concerns about the dangers of fracking continue to exist, the United States must continue its push for renewable sources of energy, especially those that can utilize the existing energy distribution infrastructure,” said Young. “We benefit from an extremely well-developed natural gas pipeline infrastructure, and alternative energy technologies that can take advantage of this existing network – like the HyperSolar technology – are critical to a near-term shift from traditional energy sources to sustainable renewables.”
Inspired by the photosynthetic processes that plants use to harness the power of the sun to create energy, HyperSolar is developing a novel solar-powered nanoparticle system that mimics photosynthesis to separate hydrogen from water. The free hydrogen can then be reacted with carbon dioxide to produce methane, the primary component in natural gas. This methane can then be delivered all over the country using the existing natural gas delivery infrastructure.
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