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from the what-do-I-do-with-all-these-burner-inserters? dept.
Submitted via IRC for Bytram
U.S. greenhouse emissions fell in 2017 as coal plants shut
Greenhouse gases emissions from the largest U.S. industrial plants fell 2.7 percent in 2017, the Trump administration said, as coal plants shut and as that industry competes with cheap natural gas and solar and wind power that emit less pollution.
The drop was steeper than in 2016 when emissions fell 2 percent, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said.
EPA acting administrator Andrew Wheeler said the data proves that federal regulations are not necessary to drive carbon dioxide reductions.
[...] While Wheeler gave the administration credit for the reductions, which mainly came from the power sector, the numbers also underscore that the administration has not been able to stop the rapid pace of coal plant shutdowns.
[...] Natural gas releases far less carbon dioxide when burned than coal and a domestic abundance of gas has driven a wave of closures of coal plants. In 2017 utilities shut or converted from coal-to-gas nearly 9,000 megawatts (MW) of coal plants.
[...] The trend of U.S. coal plant shutdowns is expected to pick up this year, with power companies expecting to shut 14,000 MW of coal plants in calendar year 2018.
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Thursday October 18 2018, @05:35PM (1 child)
Any idea on the numbers for percentage increase for gas output from injecting wastewater?
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday October 18 2018, @06:30PM
Any idea on the numbers for percentage increase for gas output from injecting wastewater?
They're called enhanced recovery wells and they make up about 80% of the injection wells in the country. (20% of the injection wells in the country are disposal wells that don't recover any additional oil/gas)
Of those 80%, you get 20-40% extra oil out.
There are alternatives to liquid injection for enhanced recovery wells that don't have the associated earthquake risks they're just more expensive. Using C02, for example, doesn't induce earthquakes (*I seem to recall, not going to look it up though).