Gas faces uphill battle in China and India
The renewables revolution is not producing a gas boom in Asia’s largest countries, as incumbent energy sources coal and hydro retain an advantage
As the climate crisis has intensified, the case has been made for gas as a complement to renewables. Supporters argue gas’ flexible and dispatchable nature will benefit (and allow it to benefit from) a renewables boom. Low minimum loads and fast ramping times allow gas plants to respond quickly to large swings in renewable generation brought about by changes in the weather. This reduces the need to curtail renewable generation and overbuild capacity, cutting system costs. Gas could therefore displace chunks of coal generation in those markets where it still dominates the grid. The logic seems sound and would provide cleaner energy, a reliable backup supply at the very least and a huge boost
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