Coal-fired power plants produce 161% more greenhouse gas emissions through their life cycles than plants fueled by liquefied natural gas, an independent study found.
The study by PACE Global Energy Services for the Center on Liquefied Natural Gas also found that two cleaner coal technologies, integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) and advanced ultra super critical coal (SCPC), produce 70% more GHG emissions than LNG.
"Replacing just one coal plant with LNG-fueled power generation for one year would equate to removing 557,000 cars off the roads. LNG will clearly play a crucial role in helping meet the substantial increase for clean burning natural gas once climate change legislation becomes a reality," said CLNG President Bill Cooper.
He said that the PACE study provides an "apples to apples" comparison by using a representative average of typical US coal and LNG operations for generating electricity. These included a gas-fired power plant supplied with LNG, a coal-fired plant and plants using the IGCC and SCPC technologies which are not yet available in the United States.
"As Congress works to pass climate change legislation in the coming months in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is important to know the truth about LNG's contribution to a cleaner environment," Cooper said.
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