Natural gas has never been more abundant. Regions all over the world, especially in the Middle East, have added a lot of natural gas capacity, either through discovery of existing natural gas or an increase in liquefaction (LNG) capacity.
More than 40 countries are now able to import LNG—at the rate of 100 million tons per year—and bring that into their domestic pipeline to generate power. Gas is readily available, affordable, and in many cases, local.
Despite the proliferation of renewable energy, gas will continue to be the largest source of fuel for energy production for years to come—in part because of the global shift away from nuclear and coal-fired plants. Gas turbine technology has proven to be a flexible and responsive way to stabilize the grid while bringing more renewable power sources to the grid. Because it's available in larger blocks of power, can be dispatched in a matter of minutes, and can achieve single-digit NOx emissions, gas power will play a big role for years—if not decades—to come.
Qatar has a goal of becoming the largest exporter and producer of LNG in the world. The demand for more efficient power generation in the country is pushing the government to consider introducing H-class gas turbine technology for the first time.
Vietnam is experiencing its biggest growth cycle in the past 25 years, with annual growth at 6 percent. The demand for gas in Vietnam is almost double the country’s GDP growth, and its goal is to double installed capacity from 55 GW to 125 GW in the next 10 years. With a push for cleaner energy and coal plants being decommissioned, the trend is towards larger blocks of power and Vietnam plans to import about 6 million tons of LNG per year.
Stricter emissions regulations is driving the need for gas in Belgium which has 21 GW of installed power. With a goal of lower CO2 emissions and the decommissioning of nuclear and coal plants, gas power plants are the most viable option for cleaner, more dependable gas power in Belgium.