BANGKOK-- July 26, 2022 -- Expanding variable renewable energy resources while boosting the reliability of Asia’s electric grid will require the use of integrated solutions, including gas-fired generation, to accelerate a successful energy transition.

In its new eBook, Natural Gas: An Energy Transition Fuel for Asia, Black & Veatch highlights opportunities for innovation and lowering energy system emissions. These opportunities include production and supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fuel the generation of electric power through turbine technology and the development of alternative sustainable fuels such as hydrogen. The eBook illustrates how cost efficiencies can be achieved by planning through the entire current and future natural gas value chain.

“To accommodate increased variable renewable generation, deploying integrated solutions, including gas-fired generation, will be critical to stabilize regional grids and enhance their resilience,” said Narsingh Chaudhary, Executive Vice President & Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Black & Veatch.

Chaudhary added that while both wind and solar power help address clean energy by replacing fossil energy with zero-emission electricity, in the near-term as energy storage technologies evolve, a mix of generation solutions is the best course of action.

In the eBook, Black & Veatch energy experts assess opportunities to monetize gas fields from early-stage commercial modelling of bankable projects through to the schedule and modularity advantages of building floating LNG infrastructure. It details how holistic project planning can present opportunities to co-locate and integrate LNG receiving terminals alongside gas-fired power plants as well as other off-takers of ‘cold energy’ including data centers through to refrigeration facilities, while also designing for the longer-term combustion of carbon-emissions-free green hydrogen at gas-fired power facility.

To address energy security and climate change issues, Chaudhary advises stakeholders to consider opportunities across the gas value chain and life cycle of the assets under investment as other complementary decarbonization technologies become economically and technically feasible.

According to the Black & Veatch 2022 Asia Electric Report, gas-fired power has a future as an investment class in Asia. Approximately 50 percent of respondents believe that over the next five years there will be ‘more investment’ in gas or LNG-to-power facilities combined with carbon capture while, separately, 46 percent of respondents believe gas-fired generation will remain an important part of the grid beyond 2035.

Chaudhary will discuss the evolving role of gas and LNG in ASEAN’s energy mix at the Future Energy Asia event in July 2022, during the panel session, “Decarbonisation & GHG Commitment - Gas and LNG as Cleaner Fuels to Bridge ASEAN’s Energy Transition”.