Methane Verification Rulemaking - Technology to Meet the Moment

Colorado’s climate tech sector has been one of the strongest in the nation. Gov. Jared Polis and his administration have promoted an innovation ecosystem that has witnessed eight-times higher overall job growth in our climate tech sector than the national average, while supporting emissions reductions. Yet these impressive gains have largely come from tech focused on C02. We now need to provide support for tech focused on methane measurement and reductions, enabling us to realize the untapped economic and climate benefits in this space as well.

CO2 gets a lot of the emphasis in the climate change conversation, but reducing methane emissions is critical given that it’s over 80 times more powerful at trapping heat than CO2 in the short term. In fact, cutting methane emissions is one of the quickest and most cost-effective ways to slow the rate of global warming already underway. 

Colorado has made some early strides towards curbing methane emissions. A September 2022 multi-basin study found that Colorado and California were the only two states with a lower frequency of large emission events from oil and gas well sites commonly referred to as “super emitters.” Not coincidentally, those were the only two states with comprehensive rules to cut methane pollution in effect at the time of the study. 

Another 2022 Satellite study seemed to suggest that oil and gas production in the Denver-Julesburg Basin had a lower rate of “methane intensity.” Unfortunately, that particular study had too much uncertainty to draw any clear conclusions about the level of methane pollution on the Front Range. What this industry needs is better data based on real-world, site-level measurements to verify the progress we think we are making. 

Right now, operators determine emissions by using complicated engineering calculations based on outdated emission factors developed in the 1990s – before people were commonly using email. At a time when technology is constantly evolving, paperwork exercises on decades-old estimates are simply not sufficient for determining how much pollution is emitting from a well. We need to directly measure emissions with the best technology available today. 

Gov. Jared Polis and his administration have long been champions of Colorado’s climate tech advancements. And with clear methane measurement standards in place, we can capture the economic opportunity to be a national leader in the methane measurement industry. 

This July, the Air Quality Control Commission (Commission) will consider a consensus proposal developed by the Air Pollution Control Division (Division), environmental groups, and the oil and gas industry to verify methane emissions from oil and gas well sites. We are very encouraged that once again, diverse stakeholders have worked together to find common sense solutions. The Division should be commended for this program. We support their proposal and ask the Commission to adopt it. 

Incorporating real-word data to accurately measure emissions will be no small task, and the implications are far-reaching. Here at home, the verification rule has the potential to determine whether Colorado is on track to meet its 60 percent greenhouse gas reduction target from the oil and gas sector by 2030, set forth in House Bill 21-1266 and supported by Signal Tech Coalition. 

More broadly, accurately measuring emissions will be a key factor to limit climate change impacts as the United States expands its role in meeting international energy demand, especially as Europe seeks to replace its supply of natural gas from Russia while honoring its commitment to address climate change. 

Without reliable data, industry cannot make good decisions about how to reduce emissions and stay competitive, as investors and markets pay increasingly more scrutiny to climate pollution across the oil and gas supply chain. 

This is where the emerging methane measurement industry is key. There is a growing list of commercially available technologies that exist today that can directly measure the quantity of those emissions. Companies like Bridger Photonics can measure emissions, even at very low levels, from the air. Other companies such as LongPath and Qube have created continuous emission monitoring systems that can be deployed directly in the field. Companies such as Picarro have developed portable analyzers that could be extremely useful at the tens of thousands of lower-producing, lower-emitting well sites, and Colorado-based Scientific Aviation’s aircraft and drone technology can measure emissions across large swaths of land in a single session.

With the proliferation of methane measurement technologies, it’s even more important to have clear standards that foster technological innovation. If cheap, ineffective technologies are deployed in the field, markets will fail to have confidence that operators are truly reducing their emission footprints, dissuading private investment. And a recent study conducted at Colorado State University’s Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center demonstrates that not all technologies are created equal. 

I have talked with investors in our network who haven’t made investments in this space because there’s too much uncertainty. They’ve told us point-blank that clearer standards are needed to make it easier for the private sector to invest. 

This summer’s verification rulemaking is just the first step in the Division’s process to create an effective and forward-thinking greenhouse gas reduction strategy. The Division will then convene stakeholder meetings to develop a protocol to implement the rule. Protocol development will be key to creating clear standards for methane measurement and signal to the market the importance of further development and deployment of methane measurement technologies. 

Colorado has consistently led the nation in adopting innovative cutting-edge policies that reduce methane pollution across the oil and gas supply chain. This summer, we can once again lead by adopting this strong, consensus-built framework that can support climate-friendly economic development, dramatically reduce methane emissions, and give investors the confidence they need to deploy capital in this growing industry.