RESEARCH
The Gas Transition Allies includes scientists, engineers, economists, gas safety experts, health professionals, and others who regularly document, monitor, and analyze issues regarding the gas system.
Our advocacy for more sustainable energy systems is strongly rooted in peer-reviewed data and science.
This research and analysis also informs our work to accelerate a more equitable transition off of fossil fuels.
Foundational Research
Two studies of gas leaks in Boston inspired the founding of the Gas Transition Allies.
2013
A Boston University study found 3,356 leaks in the Boston area alone.
Covering 785 road miles, the study found, on average, 3.9 leaks per mile.
Some of the leaks measured up to 15 times the background level of methane.
This methane bore the markers of a fossil fuel source, not a natural emission.
2015
A Harvard study found that methane levels in the Boston area were two to three times worse than previously estimated.
While emissions from gas production had been studied, at this point there were almost no measurements of emissions from distribution systems and end uses.
The volume of leaking gas was sufficient to heat 200,000 homes per year, meaning that emissions from gas distribution are potentially greater than from gas production.
Learn more: Leaks in Boston area gas pipes exceed estimates.
Ongoing Studies
Since these seminal studies, the Gas Transition Allies have supported efforts to increase the efficacy and pace of reducing methane emissions.
2016
A scientific study by Margaret Cherne-Hendrick, PhD, found that 7% of gas leaks emit over 50% of the leaked gas into the atmosphere.
2017
HEET researched methods in the Large Volume Leak Study of leak detection and developed an accurate method for identifying the largest leaks so they can be fixed first.
The Gas Transition Allies convened a summit of advocates, experts, officials, and the three largest gas companies in Massachusetts to announce a ground-breaking agreement on targeted gas leak repair and methane emissions reduction.
If fully implemented, this Shared Action Plan, developed by HEET with the three gas companies, would drastically reduce the climate-warming impact of leaking methane from the gas distribution system by accelerating repair of the largest leaks. Read results from HEET on how the Plan has been implemented to date:
Repair Failures Call for New Policies to Tackle Leaky Natural Gas Distribution Systems
Aladdine Joroff at Harvard Law School proposed a framework for energy equity in Energy Justice: What it Means and How to Integrate It Into State Regulation of Electricity Markets. She includes considerations for grid operation as well as siting facilities.
2018
Read results from HEET on how the Shared Action Plan has been implemented to date:
Leak Extent Method Field Report
Repair Failures Call for New Policies to Tackle Leaky Natural Gas Distribution Systems
The Gas Transition Allies also have a long-standing commitment to research on gas leaks and trees.
Gas Transition Allies tree expert Bob Ackley and others studied gas leaks and trees in Chelsea, Massachusetts, an environmental justice community. They found that dead street trees in Chelsea are thirty times more likely to have gas in the soil of the planting area.
2020
Gas companies have long touted cooking with gas as the best. But Health Effects From Gas Stoves reviewed the science of living with leaks and combustion gases to find eight key risks to health.
Sierra Club and Earth Justice exposed the myth of “renewable” natural gas in Rhetoric vs. Reality, while pointing out that electrification is the way to go.
2022
Physicians for Social Responsibility exposed the problems with piping hydrogen into homes for heat in Hydrogen Pipe Dreams: Why Burning Hydrogen in Buildings is Bad for Climate and Health
“The vast majority of hydrogen in the United States is produced using polluting fossil fuels like methane and coal. Piping hydrogen into homes would increase greenhouse gas emissions and health risks, while delaying the transition to homes that run on renewable electricity,” said Andee Krasner, MPH, lead report author and program manager for climate and health, Greater Boston PSR.
Sierra Club also poked holes in the notion of making hydrogen for home heating with Hydrogen: Future of Clean Energy or a False Solution? This paper summarizes findings from research papers as a comprehensive policy guide for making and using hydrogen.
HEET worked with Harvard University and Boston University to characterize gas components, including volatile organic compounds, in Home is Where the Pipeline Ends. Fossil gas delivered to homes contains trace amounts of nonmethane gases that can impact air quality and human health at any point where the gas leaks.