The growth of natural gas in electricity: A new LNG role for supply and flexibility
Description: 23 pDDC classification:- CD I249 1 0013788
| Current library | Call number | Status | Barcode | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biblioteca Alejandro Angel Bulgheroni | CD I249 1 0013788 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Not for loan | 200025493 |
Disponible en CD en formato PDF
Transcripción del abstract original del autor: During its last Congress in Buenos Aires (2001), the World Energy Council launched a new study "Energy Market Reforms" aimed at better analysing and understanding the consequences of liberalisation and competition on the electricity and natural gas sectors, as well as on their working together. The proposed paper builds on elements of this new study. As CCGT (combined-cycle gas turbine) is now the cheapest and most versatile power generation technology, it is mostly chosen for new power plants in competitive electricity markets. The resulting "dash" for CCGT has strong implications in terms of security of supply because of the growing dependence on a single primary fuel, natural gas, and in terms of flexibility and means to cope with it because, when gas enters the electricity sector, it is the last fuel in the merit order, just before oil products in peaking plants. This introduces a new seasonality, that of electricity, because gas demand will mimic and amplify the ups and downs of electricity demand. This new seasonality can be the same as that of heating needs (the case of Europe) and call for additional flexibility tools, or opposite (the US case) and free some existing flexibility tools. Hence the idea of an exchange thanks to LNG swaps. Providing enough LNG terminals are built, the US will be the first candidate for developing such swaps. In a context of shrinking supply, it needs LNG and now has an attractive price environment for imports. It also offers a liquid and transparent gas market with clear spot price signals and abundant storage. The paper will comment on these issues and detail their institutional implications for Europe.



