The production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is environmentally contentious, and the issue goes to the heart of efforts to wean the world off polluting fossil fuels.
The issue came to the boil in Ireland on Wednesday after Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo said the Green Party was “about to do something really terrible to the environment” by voting in favour of the Planning and Development Bill 2023.
Ruffalo – and Friends of the Earth (FOE) Ireland – believe that Seanad-stage amendments to the Bill in effect lower the bar for permitting LNG terminals. The Bill was passed in the Dáil by 72 votes to 60 on Wednesday night. But what is LNG, and why is it so contentious?
For most environmental groups, vehement opposition to LNG is for multiple reasons. These relate to how it’s extracted from the ground (it can cause air and water pollution if fracked); how it is processed and transported throughout the world; and how it is stored and reprocessed for use.
For many, its continued use – and in many instances expanded production – risks fossil fuels being the dominant energy source for decades to come as Earth continues to overheat dangerously.
LNG is created by cooling gas to minus 160 degrees, creating a liquid, 600 times smaller than natural gas. This makes it easier to transport in pipelines long distances and to load on to tankers for export. In many countries, especially the US, the gas in fracked but this is not the case with big gas petrostates in the Gulf.
The problem is it is made up of methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than CO2. It leaks into the atmosphere throughout production and from supply chains.
However, the Ukraine war and its related energy crisis and rocketing prices mean the Government is now in a tricky position as energy security has become a prime concern. Ireland continues to import 80 per cent of its energy needs – ie costly oil and gas.
Driven by the Greens, it decided as part of a national energy security review there should never be any commercial LNG terminals in Ireland, and while they are researching whether State-controlled LNG could provide an emergency gas backup; “it would not be appropriate for the development of any LNG terminals in Ireland to be permitted or proceeded with”.
The Government is examining the possibility of have a floating gas reserve, or FSRU, using gas that is not fracked, which in any event many not be needed given the time frame being talked about. Being State-led it would able to exert more control of the gas source.
Those in favour of LNG backup believe this is a prudent position as Ireland transitions to renewables (wind, solar and battery storage).
In the meantime, commercial interests such as Shannon LNG know in the right circumstances big money can be made. A High Court judge recently overturned a refusal of permission for its proposed LNG terminal in north Kerry.
Yet the Government pushed through last-minute amendments to the Planning Bill designating LNG as strategic infrastructure – a move that seems to be a contradiction but is probably designed to hedge its bets. Some environmental campaigners insist the stance puts at risk the Greens legacy in Government though no Green TD broke ranks and voted against.
There is an obvious alternative to LNG with gas terminals and storage tanks. That comes in the form of batteries and interconnectors. But there are those in the middle who suggest we are not yet there in having sufficient scale to eliminate the risks of lights going out at a time of surging power demand.
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