The photo is sourced from 2jcp.com
The main contribution to this increase was made by the United States and China, whose gas-fired power generation in 2023 increased by 115 TWh and 25 TWh, respectively. A key role in this process was played by the launch of new capacities: according to Global Energy Monitor, the U.S. and China accounted for a total of 50% of the power plants using hydrocarbons as feedstock brought into operation worldwide in 2023 (22.5 GW out of 45.3 GW). As for reductions in gas-fired generation, the highest rates of reduction were demonstrated by Japan (minus 27 TWh), Italy (minus 23 TWh), Spain (minus 23 TWh) and France (minus 14 TWh). The reduction in Japan’s power output was linked to the restart of nuclear reactors, including the first and second power units of the Takahama NPP, which resumed regular electricity generation in 2023. As for the largest EU economies, their reductions in gas-fired generation were related to feedstock savings, the parameters of which the EU countries agreed on in the summer of 2022.
Although the global share of gas-fired generation dropped from 22.8% in 2022 to 22.5% in 2023, gas remains the second most popular source of electricity after coal (35.5% versus 14.3% for HPPs, 9.1% for NPPs, 7.8% for wind generators, 5.5% for solar panels and 10.8% for all other sources). Countries that use gas in power generation on a mass scale can be divided into three groups. The first group includes countries with rich hydrocarbon reserves, such as the U.S. and Russia, which in 2023 accounted for a total of 35% of global gas-fired generation (2,347 TWh out of 6,634 TWh). The second group includes gas importing countries, in which gas accounts for over 25% of their energy mix, including Japan (32.8%), Italy (45.1%) and South Korea (27.6%). Finally, the third group includes developing countries where the process of phasing out coal will have gas play a secondary role to renewable energy sources, such as China and India, whose energy mix in 2023 had gas at only 3.3% and 2.6%, respectively.
Overall, the growth rates of gas use in the global power industry have been slowing down in recent years. The growth in global gas-fired power generation went from 816 TWh between 2015 and 2019 to a mere 265 TWh between 2019 and 2023. Nevertheless, gas-fired generation still has potential for growth, both due to gas prices recovering to their long-term average and the phasing out of coal in a number of countries, including Germany, which has no alternative to gas among traditional energy sources following the winding down of coal-fired TPP infrastructure and the shutdown of nuclear reactors.
