Houston-based Long Path Technologies will use the loan to deploy its Emissions Overwatch System across 24,000 square miles (62,160 square km) in several states. The technology uses lasers – placed on 50-foot (15-meter) towers – to monitor areas for methane leaks.
Some of Long Path’s current subscribers include oil and gas firms like Conoco Phillips and pipeline company Williams.
The DOE said the loan is the latest commitment by the Biden administration to tackle methane, a potent, short-lived greenhouse gas that can leak into the atmosphere undetected from drill sites, gas pipelines and other oil and gas equipment.
Methane has more warming potential than carbon dioxide and breaks down in the atmosphere faster, so reining in methane emissions can have a more immediate impact on limiting climate change.
Reporting by Valerie Volcovici – Reuters