Why Renewable Gas?

Almost half of all household energy in Australia is provided by gas. It has always been regarded as reliable, cost effective and convenient. And looking ahead to the future, it can be sustainable too with a transition to renewable gas. But that’s just part of the big picture…

A sustainable future
Displacing or replacing natural gas with biomethane and renewable hydrogen will support the energy transition and lower emissions, helping Australia to achieve its net zero targets. Many Australian gas distributors aim to transition their networks to supply and store primarily renewable gases by 2050.

Heavy industry
Electrification isn’t always an option for everybody. Manufacturing steel, iron, aluminium products, cement, chemicals, building materials and much more requires high temperatures or chemical feedstocks - not a power-point. These industries, many of which rely on gas for round-the-clock operations, are responsible for around 30 per cent of the world’s annual CO2 emissions. Renewable gas, like biomethane, can support a more efficient decarbonisation pathway for thousands of Australian manufacturers.

Back-up for solar and wind
Renewable hydrogen and biomethane can both be stored in existing gas networks – kind of like an underground battery - and be used for heat and power generation when the sun isn’t shining, and the wind isn’t blowing. Renewable gas can create a reliable back-up for other renewable energy sources.

It’s your choice
In fact, it is all about choice. Households, businesses and industry have choice of energy sources today, and research tells us they all want to have that choice in the future. Renewable gas, such as biomethane, means customers can choose how to cook and heat homes and businesses, without the cost and burden of changing appliances and systems.

A quick, low cost transition
The transition to renewable gas, like biomethane, uses existing infrastructure. This means additional renewable energy options and solutions can be delivered to more people, more businesses, more quickly and more efficiently. It also means we don’t need to spend more money on lots of new distribution systems and infrastructure.

Cleaner transport
Thinking about an EV? Did you know fuel-cell EVs run on renewable gas. Renewable hydrogen can be used to power fuel-cell electric vehicles. In fact, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles can travel further than most standard battery EVs and provide more power to larger vehicles like trucks and buses.

^Australian gas customers love the warmth, convenience, reliability, and control of their natural gas supply. How do we know? They tell us. Through regular industry and independent market research studies, quantitative and qualitative data, verbatim feedback from customers and many other customer insights gathered by talking and listening to our valued customers.

• There are approximately 100,000 new gas connections across Australia every year, and over 20,000 new gas connections last year in NSW alone. So gas appliances are still the preferred choice in millions of homes and businesses for heating, cooking and hot water.

• In fact, from annual research conducted by FiftyFive5-Accenture (Oct 2023) for Jemena we know that 64% of NSW gas customers prefer their gas appliances over electric appliances, 85% would recommend gas appliances over electric and 66% of gas customers agree their home is more comfortable with natural gas.

• In an Energy Networks Australia survey (conducted by independent researcher Sagacity Research in 2021-22) of residents within gas network areas around Australia, 65% of gas customers said they couldn’t be without their gas appliances, and 90% planned to continue using gas into the future. 51% of these gas customers around Australia felt having gas connected to their home was ‘essential’, and a further 31% felt it was ‘somewhat important’. In the same national survey 46% of customers said they’d be more likely to consider gas appliances if their network had a transition pathway to renewable gas, with 72% of gas customers stating they would be keen to use renewable gas as part of the future energy mix.

• Over two thirds of NSW gas customers told us that they have no intention of getting rid of gas appliances in the next 12 months (68%), with only 7% considering removing all gas appliances from their home. According to this FiftyFive5-Accenture 2023 research, 61% of customers considering removing gas appliances changed their minds when they were told about renewable gas.

• The same survey showed that 81% of NSW customers that were familiar with renewable gas were also interested in finding out more about renewable gas.

Here are just some of the things survey respondents told Sagacity Research in the Energy Networks Australia Voice of Customer study in 2021-22