A few months after this visit, an ITE (International Technical Expert) was seconded to the Louisiana/Texas region; Emmanuel Henriet is responsible for advising and facilitating the exchange of ideas, know-how and technologies with France, in the field of energy, energy transition and current and future environmental issues. We spoke with him recently to find out where the most French of North American states is situated in terms of energy transition and cooperation.

From November 3-6, LSU will host the 41st North American Conference on its Baton Rouge campus, hosted by the USSAE and IAEE, where many U.S. economists will gather to discuss the state of energy markets and how they see the future. In 2023, John Bel Edwards – then Governor of Louisiana – submitted a detailed plan to reduce greenhouse gases to zero by 2050, in order to align with the commitments of the Paris Accords which commit to a drastic and continued reduction of greenhouse gases, which contribute to rising temperatures and therefore to climate change and its effects. One of the ways to reduce these emissions, as Emmanuel Henriet explains, is to electrify the energy industry as much as possible, using cleaner gas and also by developing renewable energies, via carbon-free sources of electricity production. .

Overall, he adds, the United States is gradually abandoning the use of coal in its energy mix in favor of natural gas (of which Louisiana is a major producer and “transporter”, via its network of gas pipelines and its infrastructure) and renewable energies. As Henriet points out, “natural gas is still, from a greenhouse gas emission point of view, less harmful than coal, but there is no miracle recipe, there is no one one and only solution: there is a set of solutions which are different and which adapt to each region and each area, depending on existing resources and expansion possibilities.”

In Louisiana today, the bulk of the market in terms of energy is natural gas, a significant part of which is exported via liquefied gas to certain countries that need it, particularly in Europe and Asia; there are “French companies which contribute enormously to this market such as Total Energies, and others, which intervene more on the technological part we will say”, he adds, such as GTT for example. This French company has unique know-how, and equips more than 80% of LNG carriers in the world to ensure their tightness during the transport of liquefied gas (the gas, once cooled to -160 degrees Celsius, loses its volume and can be transported in liquid form).

As we publish, Louisiana is the United States’ largest exporter of liquefied gas this year; this gas coming from both the north of the state, Pennsylvania and Texas.

According to Henriet, “we must take advantage of existing know-how and facilities already in place”, and 71% of workers in the oil exploitation sector in Louisiana have skills that can be exploited in order to transition and in the long term, sustain wind power. Xodus Group, leading a collaboration between The Pew Charitable Trusts, Greater New Orleans Inc., the Southeastern Wind Coalition and the Center for Planning Excellence, has just concluded an investigation into the potential of wind energy in Louisiana and the feasibility of extend such a transition project. The conclusions of this investigation are very encouraging; in fact, Louisiana has all the assets, whether economic, human, production and distribution, to develop wind energy in the future. “There are training courses that are being put in place,” adds Henriet, “among other things, to develop skills in offshore wind power, in the hope that Louisiana becomes a production base for the rest of the country. »

This study shows that the means of production are adequate and the skills can be easily and quickly transferred to wind energy exploitation to carry out this project successfully. In addition, this project can rely on more than 175 local and national companies, extremely competent in the planning, installation and distribution of oil and natural gases in the Gulf of Mexico. Furthermore, Louisiana benefits from the presence of a workforce specialized in offshore oil exploitation whose know-how can also be translated in order to satisfy the demand in terms of wind exploitation. Henriet also specifies that Louisiana is rich in biomass (renewable organic matter from plants and animals), has laboratories and a full refining capacity which can then be adapted for biofuels (sustainable aviation fuel (saf) for example) .

When it comes to solar energy, Louisiana is still in its infancy, but plans to become a leader in solar panel supply in a not-so-distant future, not only locally, but nationally as well. First Solar is building a huge solar panel factory near Lafayette, which will become the largest solar panel producing site in the United States.

The possibilities in terms of technical and human cooperation between Louisiana and France, and more broadly at the global level, are multiple and promising. For an energy future that is more respectful of the environment and more self-sufficient, Emmanuel Henriet insists, however, that long-term solutions from an energy point of view “necessarily require international cooperation between countries, because if everyone does it in their own way We won’t be able to do it alone. We need these international exchanges, contributions of technologies, exchanges of know-how, ideas, people, etc…”

A perfect example of this international cooperation, Henriet cites the United Nations conference on the oceans, which will take place from June 9 to 13, 2025 in Nice, France.