Energy

50 Years of LNG

Published

10 years ago

October 14, 2014

Jeff Desjardins

50 Years of LNG

On October 12, 1964, the first commercial shipment of liquified natural gas (LNG) was made between Algeria and Canvey Island in the United Kingdom. From the time of this very first LNG export, there are now 29 countries importing LNG. The amount of vessels carrying LNG at sea has ballooned to 424 LNG carriers with another 127 on order.

Many countries have been more reliant on LNG importing in recent years. Since Fukushima, Japan has now changed its energy mix to rely on LNG for a massive 48% of its power generation. In addition, South Korea uses LNG to meet 25% of its electricity needs. Add in Taiwan, and these three countries import over half of all available supply.

While China was on pace to ramp up LNG imports even higher than its current rate, a recent $400 billion energy deal between Russia and China may help alleviate those needs to some degree.

New global LNG export projects are underway and countries including Canada, Australia, East Africa, and the United States are all looking to get a bigger foothold in the game. These new plays have enough potential to even eventually dethrone Qatar, the world leader since 2006, which recently achieved its production goal of producing 77 million metric tonnes of LNG per year.

Original graphic from: Wood Mackenzie

Mapped: The Age of Energy Projects in Interconnection Queues, by State

This map shows how many energy projects are in interconnection queues by state and how long these projects have been queued up, on average.

Published

2 days ago

April 30, 2024

Selin Oğuz

The preview image for a state-level U.S. map showing the number and average age of energy projects in interconnection queues as of December 31, 2023.

Age of Energy Projects in Interconnection Queues, by State

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

By the end of 2023, more than 11,000 energy projects were in interconnection queues in the United States, waiting for a green-light from regional grid operators to proceed with construction.

This map, created in partnership with the National Public Utilities Council, maps out the average age of active energy projects in interconnection queues by state, using data from Berkeley Lab.

Interconnection Queues, Explained

Interconnection queues are lists of energy projects that have made interconnection requests to their regional grid operators. Once submitted, these requests formally initiate the impact study process that each project goes through before grid connection, forming waiting lists for approval known as interconnection queues.

In recent years, both the number and generation capacity of queued projects have surged in the United States, along with the length of time spent in queue.

According to Berkeley Lab, the amount of generation capacity entering queues each year has risen by more than 550% from 2015 to 2023, with average queue duration rising from 3 years to 5 years the same period.

As a result of the growing backlog, a large proportion of projects ultimately withdraw from queues, leading to only 19% of applications reaching commercial operations.

The Backlog: Number of Projects and Average Wait Times

Of the 11,000 active projects in U.S. queues at the end of 2023, Texas, California, and Virginia had the most in queue; 1,208, 947, and 743, respectively.

When looking at the average ages of these projects, all three states hovered around the national average of 34 months (2.83 years), with Texas sporting 28 months, California 33, and Virginia 34.

Vermont, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Florida, on the other hand, had the highest average queue durations; 54, 49, 47, and 46 months, respectively.

Average Queue Duration by Project Type

At the end of 2023, more than 95% of the generation capacity in active interconnection queues was for emission-free resources. The table below provides a breakdown.

Project Type	Average Queue Duration (As of 12/31/2023)	Number of Projects in Queue
Wind	40 months	841
Solar	34 months	4,506
Wind+Battery	34 months	76
Solar+Battery	27 months	2,377
Battery	24 months	2,818

Wind projects had the highest wait times at the end of 2023 with an average age of 40 months (3.33 years). Solar projects, on the other hand, made up more than 40% of projects in queue.

Overall, reducing the time that these renewable energy projects spend in queues can accelerate the transition to a low-carbon energy future.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, enhancing data transparency, streamlining approval processes, promoting economic efficiency, and maintaining a reliable grid are some of the ways this growing backlog can be mitigated.