Arizona lawmakers propose preemption against local natural gas bans (Phoenix: 2015, house)

[Pink Jazz]

https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/ne...2f0282e04.html

I'm a bit surprised by this, since I though the State Legislature was completely in bed with the electric utilities (especially APS). I hope it passes, since I prefer cooking, heating, and water heating with natural gas (my house has everything gas except the wall oven).

[Burning Madolf]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/ne...2f0282e04.html

I'm a bit surprised by this, since I though the State Legislature was completely in bed with the electric utilities (especially APS). I hope it passes, since I prefer cooking, heating, and water heating with natural gas (my house has everything gas except the wall oven).

Even if APS has huge political clout, they don't want to blow a good thing for themselves by eliminating "competition."
Ending natural gas usage is so stupid I'm at a loss for words allowed by CD to describe the pandering political tools who proposed this ridiculousness.

[Pink Jazz]

Also, from what I heard and have noticed in many Phoenix area homes built in 2010 or later, gas furnaces have been making somewhat of a comeback with some homebuilders. Our previous 2011 and current 2014 homes both had gas heat. I wonder if it is because some homebuilders think people value the comfort of a gas furnace in the days we get those freezes, avoiding having to deal with defrost cycles of a heat pump.

[Pink Jazz]

Looks like it was signed into law by Doug Ducey as of yesterday. I wonder if other states will follow suit. I can potentially see Texas following suit with its oil and gas industry.

[Burning Madolf]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

Looks like it was signed into law by Doug Ducey as of yesterday. I wonder if other states will follow suit. I can potentially see Texas following suit with its oil and gas industry.

It would be far more productive if governments didn't have to waste time writing laws to fend off moronic Greendinistas.

[Pink Jazz]

Just as an update, looks like other states now are following suit. Tennessee and Oklahoma passed such preemptions into law, and Louisiana's bill is awaiting the Governor's signature after easily passing the state House and Senate without any "no" votes. There are also bills in Minnesota, Missouri, Kentucky, and Georgia pending.

[Pink Jazz]

One thing that seems to be interesting is that since the early 2010s, natural gas furnaces have been making somewhat of a comeback in new build homes in the Phoenix area. While electric heat pumps have dominated in the 1990s and 2000s, and are nearly always specified for replacement of existing systems, many homebuilders since the early 2010s have chosen to use natural gas furnaces for their new build homes.

While I understand the Energy Star Homes program is fuel neutral and is mainly focused on cooling (not heating) efficiency for our climate zone, I just wonder what was the reason for homebuilders to move back to natural gas furnaces. I know that for our climate zone the Energy Star Homes program requires an Energy Star qualified AC system, which prior to 2015 was 14 SEER and up and since 2015 has been 15 SEER and up (with many higher-end builders now offering 16 SEER standard). I wonder what the difference in cost is when specifying a heat pump+air handler vs. AC+gas furnace at higher than minimum federal efficiency levels.

[sh9730]

Not exactly on point - but the Nacero plant which intends to convert Natural Gas into a cleaner gasoline is moving ahead. Casa Grande city council will likely approve an agreement to sell the plant some effluent from our city system, and they have submitted their initial site plans for review at planning.

[Mike from back east]

Love natural gas, hell, I produce plenty of it on my own.

Our home uses it for hot water, range top, two brand new a/c units with gas heat, fire pit, two fireplaces and a BBQ grill. If they made cars that ran on the stuff I'd have one. IIRC there are fleets of delivery vans and warehouse fork lifts that run on the stuff. As electric BEV cars become more widely available I'll have one, anything to get off of the OPEC nipple.

It burns a lot cleaner than coal and many utilities use it since gas prices are well lower than coal, which I seriously dislike not only for the environmental damage is has and is doing, but for the 100K miners who've been killed in the line of duty as well as tens of thousands more miners who've died of black lung.