Ireland denies LNG import terminal for climate reasons
Amid Europe’s angst over energy security, Ireland has made one of the boldest moves of any nation on the continent in the name of climate action: It rejected a new fossil fuel import facility.
The country’s planning authority last month refused a proposal for a liquefied natural gas import terminal on the Shannon estuary and a related gas-fired power plant, after taking into consideration policies outlined in Ireland’s energy and climate action plan. The strategy calls for the country to reduce greenhouse gas emissions annually by 7 percent on average between 2021 and 2030.
Related Knowledge Center: Liquefied natural gas
Driven by plentiful natural gas produced from shale plays, the United States began exporting liquefied natural gas in 2016 when the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana opened and shipped its first cargo. Since then, additional capacity, or trains, have been added to Sabine Pass, and terminals have become operational in Cameron Parish, La.; Hackberry, La.; Cove Point, Md.; and Corpus Christi, Texas. The Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. LNG export capacity will reach 8.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by the end of 2019, making it the third largest in the world, behind Australia and Qatar. The tariff war with China has the potential to impact some final investment decisions for additional terminals in the coming months.
Related Knowledge Center: Energy security and pricing
The United States achieved net energy independence in 2020, but that has not insulated the nation from the roiling of energy markets in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Europe has been a large consumer of Russian natural gas, and the effort to wean itself, with the help of the United States, has strained markets and endangered global efforts to address the climate crisis.