Ever felt the chill of minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit? At the Savannah River at Elba Island near Savannah you’re close to that kind of cold. This isn’t your average river. This is where the magic of liquefied natural gas happens.
Elba Island sits five miles downstream from Savannah. It’s a crucial import and export facility for LNG. Think of it as a giant freezer for natural gas. This natural gas is chilled and compressed. It becomes 600 times denser than air-temperature gas. Then it can be transported by ocean vessels.
Sonat a US energy company started the process in the early 1970s. They built an import and storage facility. But the story doesn’t end there. Fast forward to 2020. Kinder Morgan another large energy company invested $2 billion. They added ten liquefaction units. Now Elba Island exports LNG around the world.
Imagine the scale of this operation. LNG tankers can hold billions of cubic feet of gas. Elba Island can export roughly one tanker a week. Shell a major energy company has a 20-year contract to take 100 percent of Elba’s export capacity. They even plan to use some LNG to fuel ships in the US southeast coast.
But Elba Island is more than just an industrial site. It’s steeped in history. For nearly half a century Florence Martus a woman known as Savannah’s “waving girl” lived on Elba Island. She waved at passing ships from her home near the river. Her story is a testament to the enduring human spirit.
The Savannah River at Elba Island isn’t just about energy. It’s about the people the history and the cold reality of liquefied natural gas. It’s a place where industry meets legacy where the past and the future collide on the banks of the Savannah River.