Given the lower per unit energy of natural gas, this expense would be recouped relatively quickly.
Currently, natural gas is about one-third the price of crude oil on a per unit energy basis.
It means that the only number consumers would have to compare between suppliers would be the unit energy charge.
Also, burning wood releases three times more carbon into the atmosphere than burning natural gas, per unit energy generated, said Booth.
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The carbon dioxide intensity of U.S. energy supply (CO2 per unit of energy) in 2009 also dropped as a result of lower natural gas prices relative to coal.
There was also a slight increase in the CO2 intensity of U.S. energy supply (CO2 per unit of energy) in 2010, which is in contrast to a drop of 2.4% in 2009.
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For every unit of energy to drive the compressor, the pump yields four units of heat.
Natural gas emits about half as much carbon dioxide per unit of energy as coal.
Gas emits about half as much carbon dioxide as coal per unit of energy produced.
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There are studies around showing that renewables generate more employment per unit of energy than fossil fuels.
But there's no denying that burning natural gas (methane, that is) produces less carbon dioxide per unit of energy than burning coal.
Overall, the team found, the organic systems used resources more efficiently, producing more for each unit of energy and other inputs they consumed.
There are multiple studies that show how much more labor intensive renewables are and how they create more jobs per unit of energy created.
The IEA uses a complex calculation called the carbon intensity index to show how much CO2 is emitted to provide a given unit of energy.
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Looking at the numbers, however, nuclear power has resulted in far fewer accidental deaths per unit of energy than other major forms of power generation.
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For this reason battery performance is usually measured in watts (a unit of energy calculated by multiplying voltage x amperage) per liter or watts per kilogram.
Nvidia chips are also prized by the supercomputer community because they can handle six to eight times more operations per unit of energy than an Intel chip.
"We were worried as we are always worried because it meant uncertainty, " said Martha Duggan, the vice president of regulatory and government affairs for the solar unit of Energy Conversion Devices.
But a recently published survey of the various conflicting engineering studies comes up with a plausible compromise estimate: Every unit of energy that goes into making ethanol from corn produces ethanol that yields 1.27 units of energy.
It produces less carbon dioxide for a unit of energy than coal or oil, so the climate will benefit to the degree that gas replaces either of those: it will mostly substitute for coal, though some oil too, especially if gas-powered trucking becomes widespread.
Notable additions include natural gas company Spectra Energy, ranked 734, which was a former unit of Duke Energy, ranked 233.
To turn the ratio around: If you want to displace a unit of petroleum energy, you have to burn four-fifths of a unit in fossil fuels.
One of the largest employers was Sandia National Laboratories, a Department of Energy unit established in 1949 to develop nuclear weapons and now also working on solutions to nonmilitary problems in energy, computing and geologic sciences.
The latest orders are with two German companies, Belectric and Plain Energy, and with EDF Energies Nouvelles, a unit of the French energy giant.
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Ben Caldecott, Head of Policy Exchange's Environment and Energy Unit, said simple, cheap strategies like providing more bins could easily be put into place.
CMS's Consumers Energy unit has 626 miles of cast- and wrought-iron pipeline in its gas system, or about 2.4 percent of the utility's total distribution system.
Barrick said it is looking to sell some non-core assets such as its energy unit, as well as mines with short lives and high operating costs.
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Its patented fumes-to-fuel technology, co-developed with the Detroit Edison unit of DTE Energy (nyse: DTE - news - people ), could be worth millions in energy savings and licensing fees, Ford says.
Last week, the regulator, Ofgem, published its simplification plan, which said suppliers would be forced to have no-frills tariffs, which would consist of a standing charge - fixed by the regulator - plus a unit charge for energy used.
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