The US LNG? Here are strengths and weaknesses
What are the real alternatives to Russian gas? Facts and analyzes in the in-depth analysis by Nicola Armaroli of the Cnr
"Italy is one of the most methanized countries in the world and this is a problem". This consideration comes from Nicola Armaroli , PhD in Chemical Sciences and research manager of the CNR who tried to explain why our country must try to free itself from its addiction to gas (Russian or American) and embrace quickly and with more conviction the path of renewables. " We have been linked to Russian gas for more than 50 years , which when we built these pipelines we were arch enemies, we had the Berlin Wall, the Iron Curtain and yet we took this gas from there, it was a bond of brotherhood – Armaroli said during Omnibus (La7) -. The pipeline itself is called brotherhood, the one that connects the fields of Siberia to Europe and reaches Tarvisio. We never questioned Russian gas, then Putin arrived ”.
Putin asks to pay for gas in rubles
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin , has announced that he has signed a presidential decree that "obliges" the so-called hostile countries to pay for the gas they buy in rubles . The head of the Kremlin thus tries to respond to the economic pressures put in place by Western countries against Russia through sanctions. The US has made liquefied natural gas available to its allies ( here the in-depth study by Start Magazine ).
US gas will not be enough
“Liquid gas costs more than Russian gas – said the CNR research executive, also an expert in energy sources -. We depend so much on Russia because Russian gas was the cheapest, we did it as a matter of mere convenience and now the knots are coming to a head ”. Liquefied gas costs more because it comes from far away even farther than from Siberia. “ It must first be liquefied, at low temperatures , at 160 degrees below zero, so imagine the economic and energy cost of such an operation – added Armaroli -. Then it is transported on a ship that plows the oceans , it must remain at those temperatures, it arrives at the regasification plant and there it is transformed into gas and introduced into the networks ".
The environmental cost of US gas
All these operations have a cost that is not only economic but also environmental. "The gas of the United States, the one that should save us, is the worst of all because it is produced through fracking : an operation that pollutes and which, in the last 10 years, has caused an increase in methane emissions in the atmosphere, an increase completely out of control – continues Armaroli -. Liquefied natural gas costs more and has more impact ”.
The Italian dependence on methane
The consequences of a gas shortage, regardless of its origin, could be all the more serious for our country which is heavily dependent on methane gas . As a result, "there is a great push on the part of gas companies, in particular Snam, but not only, to continue using methane and above all to continue using the gas infrastructure – underlined Armaroli in an interview on Qualenergia specialist magazine -. I want to strongly emphasize one fact: methane is part of the problem and as such cannot be part of the solution. When the problems are complex and the challenges are as difficult as the current one, we need to change the paradigm: we cannot think that methane will help us ".
Italian gas: a road that cannot be traveled
Among the various alternatives proposed to respond to the shortage of foreign gas is internal production. “ National gas reserves are now exhausted . Our wells are small and located in various areas of the territory – added Armaroli in an interview -. In 1994 we extracted 21 billion cubic meters of gas, now about three . We stopped extracting it for a simple reason: economically it is convenient for us to import it from Russia and other countries where they have immense and excellent quality deposits. In Italy, assuming we extract all the certain and probable resources, we will reach about 100 billion cubic meters of gas, it would be enough for just over a year. And then what do we do? The point is another: we must get out of dependence on methane, which also has a much worse climate impact than CO2 , when it is dispersed into the atmosphere. And a lot of it is dispersed along the supply chain. Moreover, no one says so but today a share equal to half of what is extracted in Italy is exported to other countries ".
The need to change paradigm
The solution, now that Russian gas could be phased out, would not be to find a new source of supply, but to change the paradigm. "When a person has an addiction, let's say from psychotropic drugs or drugs, the good doctor is not the one who tries to find alternative sources of addiction but tries to find a cure that gets him out of the tunnel – according to Armaroli -. So if we want to get out of this tunnel once and for all it would take that energy transition that we were talking about a few days ago and that we should not forget. Now the need is vital because the real problem is climate change , let's not forget that. Every cubic meter of gas we burn does two damage: we fuel the war between Russia and Ukraine and the second is to produce CO2, release it into the atmosphere and cause climate change. We have to get out of this cage ”.
The "moral" opportunities of alternatives to Russian gas
The map of the distribution of energy raw materials does not correspond to the map of democracies. “ The alternatives to Russian gas are not Switzerland, Portugal and Denmark – Armaroli remarked to Omnibus -. The alternatives are Algeria, which abstained from the UN resolution against Russia. The other possibility is Azerbaijan. But I want to remind you that the Azerbaijani gas pipeline crosses all of Turkey and our memories are a little too short. Until a few months ago, the villain who stood out in Western newspapers was Erdogan . So we are very careful because our idea of good and bad changes very quickly because we are exposed. The problem is that we have an addiction, which is a term that typically has a negative meaning.
The forced choice of renewable energy
Renewables are an obligatory choice, especially since the commitment made at European level is clear. “ We are bound by the goal of cutting EU greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent compared to 1990 – remembers Dr. Armaroli at Qualenergia -. Well, where are we? In 1990, emissions were 520 million tons, in 2018 they reached 439 million. If we have to reach 55% by 2030, it means that in a decade we must reach 234 million tons. So compared to where we are now we have to reduce emissions by over 45 percent and this in just 10 years. So – and here comes the thrilling number – a triple cut in emissions compared to what was done previously in just 10 years instead of 30. It means nine times the speed of the overall process ”.
Photovoltaics: an already known path
Of all the renewable energy sources available, photovoltaics are the simplest to choose and distribute throughout the country. “But with a large-scale spread of photovoltaics on warehouses and buildings and with adequate storage facilities, we can produce all the electricity we need, freeing ourselves from the use of gas – adds Armaroli -. In my house I have photovoltaic and solar thermal panels, coupled to a geothermal heat pump. Nothing science fiction, which allows me to be completely independent. With the current costs of gas it is an investment that can be recovered in five years ".
Green transition: bureaucratic difficulties
Making a green change difficult is not only the need to reconvert an entire industrial system. “I want to add one more thing about renewables – concludes Armaroli -. It is true that it is difficult to install renewables. There was a negative opinion from the Ministry of Cultural Heritage that wind turbines are placed on the breakwater at the port of Genoa, which I believe was designed by Renzo Piano. If state bodies oppose energy progress , we must agree. Do we prefer that ships full of coal enter the port of Genoa and remain with their engines running to load the coal? These things can be done but we have to take a political line that does not exist at the moment ”.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/il-gnl-usa-ecco-pregi-e-difetti/ on Sun, 03 Apr 2022 07:09:42 +0000.