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Benchmarking natural gas and coal-fired electricity generation in the United States

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  • Gilbert, Alexander Q.
  • Sovacool, Benjamin K.

Abstract

This study answers a critical question facing the energy sector in the United States: how does natural gas compare to coal as a climate change mitigation technique? Although natural gas burns cleaner than coal, methane leakage potentially undermines the climate benefits of fuel switching. This study investigates the impact of methane leakage using a novel plant-level lifecycle emissions inventory of greenhouse gas emissions associated with coal mining, transportation, and combustion at 337 existing coal power plants in the United States. Individual plant emissions rates ranged from 901 to more than 2200 kgCO2e/MWh (100-yr GWP); generation-weighted average was 1046 kgCO2e/MWh. Our study finds that the “breakeven” leakage rates for natural gas to have short and long term climate benefits over coal range from 4.4 to 20.9%, depending on the timeframe, plant efficiency, and upstream coal emissions. Emissions benefits can be maximized by replacing highest emitting coal plants with new natural gas plants. Finally, we find fugitive methane emissions can limit carbon reductions from natural gas carbon capture; above 2% leakage, methane leakage reduces CCS benefits by up to half for 20-yr GWP.

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  • Gilbert, Alexander Q. & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2017. "Benchmarking natural gas and coal-fired electricity generation in the United States," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 622-628.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:134:y:2017:i:c:p:622-628
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2017.05.194
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hausfather, Zeke, 2015. "Bounding the climate viability of natural gas as a bridge fuel to displace coal," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 286-294.
    2. Lueken, Roger & Klima, Kelly & Griffin, W. Michael & Apt, Jay, 2016. "The climate and health effects of a USA switch from coal to gas electricity generation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 1160-1166.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gilbert, Alexander Q. & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2017. "US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports: Boom or bust for the global climate?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 1671-1680.
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    3. Santillán Vera, Mónica & García Manrique, Lilia & Rodríguez Peña, Isabel & De La Vega Navarro, Angel, 2023. "Drivers of electricity GHG emissions and the role of natural gas in mexican energy transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    4. Gallaher, Adam & Graziano, Marcello & Axon, Stephen & Bertana, Amanda, 2023. "Breaking wind: A comparison between U.S. and European approaches in offshore wind energy leadership in the North Atlantic region," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    5. Gilbert, Alexander Q. & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2018. "Carbon pathways in the global gas market: An attributional lifecycle assessment of the climate impacts of liquefied natural gas exports from the United States to Asia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 635-643.
    6. Liang, Yingzong & Hui, Chi Wai, 2018. "Convexification for natural gas transmission networks optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 1001-1016.
    7. Freida Ozavize Ayodele & Siti Indati Mustapa & Bamidele Victor Ayodele & Norsyahida Mohammad, 2020. "An Overview of Economic Analysis and Environmental Impacts of Natural Gas Conversion Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-18, December.
    8. Chen, Hao & Geng, Hao-Peng & Ling, Hui-Ting & Peng, Song & Li, Nan & Yu, Shiwei & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2020. "Modeling the coal-to-gas switch potentials in the power sector: A case study of China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).

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