Natural Gas Becoming Preferred Power Method Among Data Center Operators

Natural gas has long been a supplier of power to the world and has been reliable time and again. But because of people who scream about environmental activism, more "green" energy has flooded the market. Solar and wind have started dominating the market, and virtue signaling companies have all hopped aboard with promises of lower costs. In reality, the costs of doing "green" energy business have become a burden rather than a gift.

Many companies who made the switch, especially data center operators, have seen a huge uptick in costs with not a whole lot of payoffs. Wind farms and solar panel installation costs loads of money and maintaining them can cost more. Not to mention, they are not always reliable. The subsidies for going "green" have also helped explode the idea as people want in on that bit of money.

But funny enough, their backup when the renewable energy fails is natural gas. It is somehow good enough to be a failsafe backup, but not enough to run solo. It is a mind-boggling idea, but most operators are seeing the light.

Data center operators are increasingly changing their tune and say they now prefer natural gas over the renewable trend. Bill Ponton of The American Thinker says this boils down to both costs, and capacity.

"Based on the amount of solar, wind, and natural gas they have, and the generation they get out of it...this combination gives you 31 percent, 20 percent, and 30 percent respectively for wind solar and gas," he says.

So, while it seems like a great idea on paper to throw up "green" energy, there is no real benefit to it. Especially when you consider what natural gas could do if not held back by its two lethargic siblings.

"If you were to just run the gas solo, you get a much higher capacity factor of 60 percent, so you are utilizing it much better," says Ponton.

Of course, natural gas operations also cost a lot of money, as it does to run any major operation. But compared to the cost of running with three forms of power, two of which barely function effectively, it is a small price to pay.

"The ratio of the cost of renewables in combination with natural gas, to the cost of gas alone is a cost ratio of 1.6," Ponton says.

He adds that for gas to become indifferent in cost, fuel prices would have to increase six-fold. Which, likely, will never happen.

But it is not just here in America. In Spain, a massive blackout recently was fueled by a lack of renewable power. That has led to more European countries to go back to natural gas. Germany has also done similar things.

So, natural gas is making a come back, and as grids become more strained, it is not a moment too soon.