Concurrent 3. Presentation for: The continuing role of gas as the natural companion to renewable energy

Abstract

Presented on Tuesday 17 May: Session 3 Four years ago I gave a presentation entitled ‘Repositioning Gas in the Energy Mix’, where we outlined the need to continue to invest in natural gas in order to enable the penetration of renewable energy into the market. In that presentation we highlighted the danger of the ‘green, cheap squeeze’ on gas; squeezed by cleaner renewables on the one hand, and cheaper coal on the other, and proposed changing the messaging away from seeing gas as a transition fuel to acknowledging the longer-term enabling role gas would have to play in the energy mix. Since then several countries have managed to achieve significant reductions in emissions due to power generation, and we now have evidence that supports the continuing role of natural gas in the energy mix. This presentation will review the progress made in emissions’ reductions over the past few years, examining the key issues and confirming the impact that increasing amounts of renewable energy has on existing power generation and supply systems. We will also examine and provide insights into the issues requirements for further reductions in emission levels. To access the presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here