The US produces and consumes enormous amounts of natural gas. Demand peaks in winter, and there is need for seasonal storage, mostly underground.[1] The amount stored is far greater than what could be contained by gas holders.
Gas holders used to dot the periphery of big cities in the US, and some probably still do. But there's actually a newer solution: LNG. This sounds expensive, because large amounts of energy are required to liquify the gas. But the 600:1 volume improvement makes it worthwhile.
Two LNG tanks or 1200 gas holders? You decide! :)
Of course, sometimes things go horribly wrong[2], which is how I first learned about LNG for "peakshaving"[3] purposes.
Gas holders used to dot the periphery of big cities in the US, and some probably still do. But there's actually a newer solution: LNG. This sounds expensive, because large amounts of energy are required to liquify the gas. But the 600:1 volume improvement makes it worthwhile.
Two LNG tanks or 1200 gas holders? You decide! :)
Of course, sometimes things go horribly wrong[2], which is how I first learned about LNG for "peakshaving"[3] purposes.
[1] http://www.eia.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/analysis_publicat... [2] http://www.kulr8.com/story/25118246/fire-and-explosion-at-na... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lng#Small-scale_liquefaction_p...