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We must accelerate the global clean energy transition
Policies such as permitting reform will allow U.S. industry to fully realize its decarbonization potential
Amid rapid human development, energy costs and the use of foreign coal are skyrocketing to match increasing demand.
By enacting permitting reform to expand natural gas infrastructure and availability, we can:
Liquified Natural Gas, or LNG, is natural gas that has been supercooled to a liquid state. This process makes natural gas 1/600th its original volume and thus easier to transport and store. Following transportation, LNG is slowly warmed to return to a gaseous state for residential and commercial use.
Existing pipelines are at capacity and many pipelines and LNG facility projects have been cancelled or delayed over the past 5 years. We need a streamlined process to expand the infrastructure on the east and gulf coasts, closer to natural gas resources, to cost-effectively transport natural gas through the U.S and to our allies.
Natural gas infrastructure is fully capable of being built to support hydrogen. We need to make sure it is built hydrogen-ready for the clean energy transition.
Over the last 15 years, 61% of U.S. emissions reductions have come from replacing coal with American natural gas. To be more specific, this switch has caused annual reductions of 525 million metric tons of CO2 from 2005 to 2019.
The industry knows that if natural gas is going to be part of a clean energy future, it must address methane. That’s why responsible producers are quickly replacing pneumatic controllers, which account for 62% of total reported methane emissions, with non-venting devices and installing gas capture systems.
Natural gas plants run 50% more efficiently than coal plants (~1 natural gas plant can replace ~2 coal plants). Also, a molecule of natural gas emits 50% less CO2 than coal. The European Union recently designated natural gas as an environmentally sustainable energy source, labeling it as “green energy.”