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According to 2019 EIA figures (https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=48296 https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=48296), Natural gas plants
by Alpha3031 3y ago
According to 2019 EIA figures (https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=48296 https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=48296), Natural gas plants in the US release about 43% the CO2 per unit energy of US coal plants. This is both because of higher energy per unit CO2 (would be about 56% per MJ or Btu or whatever) and better conversion efficiency. The highest thermal efficiency possible from a modern CCGT plant running at its ideal output is something like 60%, as there is a second steam cycle capturing the heat from the exhaust of the first turbine for more electricity. The numbers given for the efficiency of the fleet of gas plants in that article translate to about 44%, and 32% for coal.