AI boom driving resurgence of U.S. gas-fired power, new life for fossil fuel usage

As utilities race to meet a surge in demand from power-hungry AI data centers, manufacturing facilities and electric vehicles, energy companies in the U.S. are planning new gas-fired power generation at the fastest pace in years, pointing to the staying power of natural gas as a source of electricity and that fossil fuels likely will have a longer runway than previously thought, Bloomberg reported Monday in a new analysis.

“A few years ago, there was the expectation that solar and wind would be able to solve our additional generation needs,” William Blair head of energy and sustainability Jed Dorsheimer told Bloomberg, now seeing gas accounting for as much as 60% of new power generation, adding that calls for peak oil and peak gas eventually will be right – but not anytime soon.

Energy analysts such as Enervus and Yes Energy estimate more than 200 gas units currently are in various stages of development across the U.S. with plans to start up between now and 2032, for as much as 100 GW of power, or enough for nearly 80M homes.

The resurgence of natural gas will bring major environmental consequences, though both sides dispute in which direction.

Natgas advocates say the fuel helps in achieving emissions goals because it replaces coal and serves as a bridge to clean energy sources, but critics note that new plants could stay in service for 40 years or more, and their methane emissions will stay in the atmosphere for decades longer, so their approval would effectively lock in greenhouse gas emissions long after 2035, which is President Biden’s target for a zero-emission electricity sector.

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