Gas to Power - Europe

Over the last decade natural gas generally has been considered the fuel of choice for power generation. Prominent energy forecasting agencies continue to predict an ever increasing importance of natural gas in the electricity sector worldwide. However, a variety of uncertainties in gas and electricity markets augmented by rising natural gas prices in recent years brought along doubts about the soundness of the common projections. This discussion paper gives an overview of the uncertainties and focuses on the perceptions of the relevant stakeholders, namely the gas and power industry as well as government organisations, with respect to the future role of natural gas in European power generation. One purpose of the paper is to provide some background for the continuing discussion about the future fuel mix in power generation.