A glut of cheap gas will see the fuel overtake renewable sources in the global race to build new energy generation, says a senior energy industry executive."More gas [power plants] than wind and solar will be built [in the 10 to 20 years]," said Steve Bolze, chief executive of General Electric's power and water division, which makes gas-fired turbines. "Gas is a good alternative to being 100% renewable."
However, he was unable to say whether a massive increase in gas-fired power generation would be consistent with the world meeting its climate change target of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 compared with 1990 levels, which scientists say is the only way to avoid dangerous levels of global warming.
He said: "We need not only to be able to work through these targets, but also to deliver the power that is required in the world. Our role is to supply the industry – and we are seeing more demand for gas."
The International Energy Agency has predicted that if the anticipated "dash for gas" goes ahead, the world will be far adrift of its greenhouse gas emissions targets. Laszlo Varro, head of gas, coal and power markets at the IEA, said: "We have said repeatedly that on our current trajectory we will miss these targets."
GE is putting its engineering and marketing muscle strongly behind gas – the company has just launched a new gas-fired turbine that is being billed as complementary to renewable energy. The new turbine is more efficient, and its key selling point is that it can be sparked up or powered down much more quickly than previous models. The company says this means it is a good way of providing back-up for intermittent renewable generation from wind turbines – which the company also manufactures to a lesser degree.
"When the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine, gas is an efficient way of meeting demand," said Bolze.
Gas companies have been stepping up their lobbying efforts in recent months, in an attempt to persuade policymakers around the world that an abundance of unconventional gas – fuel that was previously too expensive to exploit or inaccessible because it is bound up in dense rocks – means the fossil fuel is the best way to meet rising demand for power and cut greenhouse gas emissions. full story - http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/30/renewables-overtaken-cheap-gas-energy
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