GAS POWER Direct

There are legitimate concerns with the effects hydraulic fracturing can have on health and the environment, but the discussion is in need of some perspective.

Do we really have only a decade of gas left? Or a century? Or more than that? The answer requires agreement on some definitions, and a solid grip on the big picture.

New federal regulations promise to change the fracking landscape in the coming years, perhaps substantially. But technology may be running ahead of the law, as improvements in the fracking process threaten to make some of the new rules unnecessary.

All but unthinkable a decade ago, the U.S. gas industry is gearing up for a major shift toward export of liquefied natural gas. Across the country, projects are afoot that could make the U.S. a serious LNG exporter within the next decade. GAS POWER reviews some of the major players and issues.

A lot goes into the decision to upgrade a simple-cycle plant to combined cycle. Careful planning and analysis can make the difference between a profitable, successful switch and an expensive hassle.

A review of the global gas power industry shows solid growth in gas-fired generation. Here’s a snapshot of who’s doing what, and where.

Not all is well in the realm of PJM, as several states in its jurisdiction have chafed under perceived roadblocks for expanding generation capacity. In April, Maryland fired a shot across the ISO’s bow, as its Public Service Commission ordered the construction of a new gas-fired plant.

Municipal landfills across the country have been quietly harnessing their methane emissions for years. But as the appetite for natural gas grows and the price of oil skyrockets, some creative sanitation departments are starting to make some real noise.

However bright the future of gas-fired power may appear to be, the industry still needs good leadership to get there. It’s not clear we’re getting it, at least from Washington.

A fast-growing population means skyrocketing electricity demand for the desert Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The government is trying to meet this demand head-on with a massive build-out of gas turbine generation capacity, but long-term success will hinge on its ability to produce reliable domestic supplies of natural gas—a problem for a country whose existence has long been tightly tethered to crude oil production.

The Lower Colorado River Authority (LRCA) is slated to replace an aging gas-fired thermal plant outside Austin with a modern combined cycle facility. It’s an upgrade sure to be welcomed as the Texas electric market faces an increasingly murky future.

Once primarily deployed for peaking and industrial use, gas-fired combustion engines are becoming an increasing part of the baseload fleet because of their flexibility and ease of operation. Wärtsilä’s latest engine offers a new level of power and efficiency that can compete with gas-fired combustion turbines in baseload operations.

A mild winter and surging shale production have gas inventories at record highs. Absent major production cutbacks, the industry is facing the near-certain prospect of major amounts of gas being dumped on the market later this year.

The explosion of public attention directed at hydraulic fracturing in 2011 has led to heightened regulatory scrutiny. This year will likely see a range of new regulations rolling out at the federal, state, and local levels. Will this new oversight help clean up the industry—or choke it off?

New regulations from the EPA have created alarm in some corners of the electricity sector. A fair review of the state of the industry indicates that most stakeholders are well-positioned to comply without sacrificing reliability.

The gas business and electric business have been joined at the hip for decades, despite numerous artificial barriers preventing an efficient coordination of resources. It’s past time to rethink the relationship.

Lower emissions from U.S. power plants in 2009 were driven by competitive pricing of natural gas versus coal.

Piping at gas-fired plants has long been cleaned using compressed natural gas because of its easy availability. The big problem? It’s also explosive. The fatal 2010 blast at the Kleen Energy plant in Connecticut began a shift toward safer alternatives such as nitrogen and compressed air that is gathering increasing momentum.

Steel mills have long recaptured flue gas from the blast furnace to generate local power and steam. But advances in gas turbine technology have taken what was a low-tech means of increasing plant efficiency and given mill owners ways to increase profits through selling electricity and greatly reducing emissions through more efficient combustion.

Surging supply and plummeting prices during 2011 have worked a sea change in America’s energy policies and use of natural gas. How long can it go on?

Timing is (almost) everything when it comes to building new power plants. Nobody knows that better than AEP, which finally got a happy ending to a story that took over a decade to complete.

The 2000s saw dramatic growth in gas-fired power generation capacity. But, surprise–this growth was also accompanied by the retirements of numerous older gas-fired plants.

The rapid growth of gas extraction by hydraulic fracturing has drawn increasing allegations of property damage and health risks. In many cases, these allegations are being followed by a wave of lawsuits.

Whatever your role in gas-fired power, there’s one constant these days: You probably aren’t bored.

Gas extraction by hydraulic fracturing is not new, but the controversy over it is. While the process carries some notable risks, the potential and promise of fracking argue in favor of responsible development and regulation, not an outright ban.

Hydraulic fracturing has been growing in popularity as a means of extracting natural gas for several years. It was in 2011 that media and public attention began to focus on its possibilities and risks, bringing with it controversy and increasing concern.