To access the full paper, download the PDF on the left-hand sidebar.

Introduction

On April 21, 2022, Energy Dialogues and the Center for Energy Studies (CES) at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy hosted the Houston Energy Dialogues (HED) for the sixth consecutive year. Co-sponsors of the event included Shell, the American Petroleum Institute, and Chart Industries. This was the second year the HED was held in person since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As in previous years, the event provided a platform for representatives from academia, industry, environmental groups, and government, including regulatory bodies, to take part in an in-depth conversation about the energy landscape. Consisting of two panels and two roundtables, the 2022 HED focused on four topics under the central theme of energy transitions: (1) Houston’s potential to become a low-carbon hub; (2) the low-carbon future of the U.S. and the role of hydrogen hubs; (3) the role of natural gas in the global energy transition; and (4) energy market resilience and domestic and global infrastructure needs.

The 2022 HED was held under the Chatham House Rule. As such, the dialogues are summarized in this report without attribution to participants.

1. Panel 1: U.S. Gulf Coast — Is Houston the Ideal Location for a Low-carbon Hub? The first panel stressed the importance of leveraging existing assets and resources in the Gulf Coast region while reducing long-term CO2 emissions and increasing community involvement. With a unique entrepreneurial environment for financing and scaling new technologies, Houston possesses tremendous potential for incubating innovative solutions. The panel recommended that Houston utilize federal grants and create informative campaigns about the region's potential as a hub to accelerate the required deployment of low-carbon technologies.

2. Roundtable 1: The Low-carbon Future of the U.S. and the Role of Hydrogen Hubs. Among the various low-carbon technologies, hydrogen is central to energy solutions that could be key to unlocking a low-carbon future. Participants agreed that the Gulf Coast and Houston have the assets, infrastructure, and resource advantages to develop a hydrogen hub, although they raised concerns about potential environmental and community impacts as well as water usage. They also highlighted a need for verifiable nature-based solutions.

3. Panel 2: The Role of Gas in the World's Decarbonization Journey. Natural gas is critical to ensuring grid resiliency as intermittent renewable energy sources increase in power generation. Indeed, the panel noted that natural gas is currently the most readily available alternative for regions that want to reduce their dependence on coal. There was ample discussion about the need for additional transport infrastructure in the U.S. to allow the country to exploit its full potential as a liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, especially to countries in Europe who are at the mercy of Russia for supplies.

4. Roundtable 2: Defining and Building Resilience in Energy Markets — Infrastructure Needs in the U.S. and Globally. Given the evolution of the energy mix and greater renewable energy penetration, participants deliberated on market resiliency and capital adequacy, as well as the resiliency of the electric grid. Regarding grid resiliency, participants agreed that a more decentralized generation system, which some are advocating, would require additional grid infrastructure. At the same time, a consistent regulatory and policy environment is pivotal to preparing the world for a just and sustainable transition.

To access the full paper, download the PDF on the left-hand sidebar.

This material may be quoted or reproduced without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given to the author and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The views expressed herein are those of the individual author(s), and do not necessarily represent the views of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.