[HN Gopher] Liquefied natural gas carbon footprint is worse than...
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       Liquefied natural gas carbon footprint is worse than coal
        
       Author : bikenaga
       Score  : 22 points
       Date   : 2024-10-04 15:21 UTC (7 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (phys.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (phys.org)
        
       | toomuchtodo wrote:
       | Study:
       | https://scijournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ese3...
        
       | maeil wrote:
       | Is this the same LNG used as fuel in some cars? Wondering because
       | the comparison here is coal rather than oil.
        
         | erik_seaberg wrote:
         | I once drove a shuttle that ran on compressed natural gas from
         | the airport, but liquefied sounds more demanding to handle.
        
         | TheBill wrote:
         | Very very few LNG cars and trucks out there, as filling
         | infrastructure is limited compared to CNG. In US it's something
         | like 2% of total CNG+LNG fleet.
         | 
         | Interviewed with a midwestern company doing CNG truck
         | conversions and building fueling infrastructure back in
         | 2014/15. Diesel prices coming down crushed them, and they sold
         | off the majority of their fueling station biz in 2019, to focus
         | on renewable CNG from dairy & hog farms.
        
       | Sohcahtoa82 wrote:
       | I feel like the headline is incredibly misleading, because the
       | actual study is about the _exporting_ of LNG, not simply the
       | _use_ of it.
        
         | toomuchtodo wrote:
         | Its an important point, with the conclusion being that the LNG
         | export market isn't sustainable when GHG emissions are
         | accounted for. The good news is that the demand for LNG exports
         | from the US appears to be on the decline. The bad news is that
         | renewables, batteries, and transmission must ramp much faster
         | to destroy demand for this shipped energy in the markets
         | currently importing and consuming LNG. Coal is rapidly on the
         | decline, natural gas will be right behind it (hopefully, based
         | on manufacturing and deployment rates).
         | 
         | https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/us-lng-export-do...
         | ("Reuters: US LNG export dominance tested as Europe's demand
         | wilts")
         | 
         | https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61683 ("EIA:
         | The United States was the world's largest liquefied natural gas
         | exporter in 2023")
         | 
         | > The countries that imported the most U.S. LNG were the
         | Netherlands, France, and the UK, with a combined 35% (4.2
         | Bcf/d) of all U.S. LNG exports. LNG imports increased in the
         | Netherlands after the Gate LNG regasification terminal was
         | expanded and two new floating storage and regasification units
         | (FSRUs) were commissioned. Germany began importing LNG in 2023
         | when three new FSRUs were commissioned. We expect another four
         | terminals (three of which are FSRUs) to come online between
         | 2024 and 2027.
         | 
         | Due to the EU pricing GHG emissions, this is likely to update
         | and send price signals against LNG consumption (based on
         | updated LNG emissions impact information available).
        
           | abdullahkhalids wrote:
           | > The bad news is that renewables, batteries, and
           | transmission must ramp much faster to destroy demand for this
           | shipped energy in the markets currently importing and
           | consuming LNG.
           | 
           | It's not simple. If a country/company has made capital
           | investments in LNG procession or consumption (say an LNG
           | electric power plant), they will want to get their returns on
           | that investment. If the prices of renewables are much lower
           | than LNG, then, those plants will not be able to sell their
           | electricity, and go bankrupt.
           | 
           | But that doesn't mean a loss of the capitalists. Many global
           | south countries have built plants using foreign loans that
           | will need to be paid whether the plant produces or goes
           | bankrupt. So many countries will attempt to keep these LNG
           | plants going for as long as possible.
        
             | toomuchtodo wrote:
             | It's true, and unfortunate for unsophisticated investment
             | into fossil fuel assets that will likely end up stranded.
             | 
             | https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01356-y
        
         | incrudible wrote:
         | Arguably, but the resolution is in the first paragraph. When it
         | comes to energy and emissions the whole situation must be taken
         | into account. For example, a country like Germany that bet big
         | on renewables needs natural gas to buffer the volatility, and
         | ever since the Russian invasion they rely a lot more on LNG.
         | That said, coal ouput can't be quickly regulated like natural
         | gas, so the situation is even more complicated.
        
           | Sohcahtoa82 wrote:
           | > Arguably, but the resolution is in the first paragraph.
           | 
           | True, but how many people read articles versus responding to
           | just the headlines?
           | 
           | It's visible even on HN.
        
         | Ekaros wrote:
         | And seemingly also process of liquifying it seems bad. So you
         | are better off likely not doing it, but just using it as
         | straight up natural gas.
        
       | robocat wrote:
       | Misleading headline: Some LNG is worse then coal. Or maybe on
       | average across the world?
       | 
       | Sweeping statements are just not that helpful.
        
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