Power Generaton: Top Five Trends for 2019 and Beyond
Summary
Power generation is experiencing a series of trends which will shape the market for decades to come. Coal is seemingly on a terminal decline, to be replaced by natural gas, and renewable energy is making substantial strides to become more commercially relevant.
Advances ensure new power sources are moving closer to becoming part of the mainstream, with problems such as using renewable energy on demand now being solved. Leading companies in power generation must stay ahead of the development curve in these areas - failure to do so will mean allowing rivals to gain crucial competitive advantages at a time of great change.
Key Highlights
- Most signs point towards natural gas continuing to become the dominant form of energy production in the near-future.
- New generations of renewable power generation technology are predicted to shake-up the energy mix of whole nations on a long-term basis.
- The development of lithium-ion battery arrays capable of filling in gaps in power supply, and molten salt power plants able to provide renewable energy on demand for hours at a time, reveals the commercial breakthrough moment is drawing near.
- Examines the sale of nuclear technology around the world
- Looks at the future of renewable technology
- Assesses the long-term future of coal fired power-stations
- Assesses the rise of natural gas as a power source
- Examines the commercial potential of new energy storage solutions
- Will energy storage solutions become commercially viable?
- Do coal-fired power plants have a future?
- Will natural gas dominate coal?
- How significant is the sale of cheap nuclear reactors?
- Will new generations of renewable energy technology achieve commercial relevancy?
- Overview
- Catalyst
- Summary
- Russia and China nuclear exports are thriving - both will continue to do so
- Chinese nuclear power plants are growing global force in power generation
- China is developing critical interests in the United Kingdom, demonstrating the desire from Beijing to spread to wealthy economies
- Russia is leading exporter of nuclear power technology, enabling new countries to develop networks
- Efforts to revitalize coal are unlikely to succeed as natural gas expands
- Coal is in decline as a means of generating power - latest US policies are unlikely to change that trend
- Natural gas fired power plants overtake coal in developed nations
- Coal power plants are closing as energy providers move elsewhere, leaving way open for natural gas
- Liquefied Natural Gas playing increasing role in speeding up transition from coal to gas
- Next generation renewable energy to shake up power grid
- Solar furnaces are becoming more powerful, creating a new option in renewable energy
- Tidal and wave power generation moves closer to commercial viability, potentially transforming energy markets
- Geothermal energy is edging towards mainstream power generation, helping developing countries
- Mass scale energy storage is becoming commercial reality
- Tesla battery in South Australia has proven commercial worth - it is likely to be replicated elsewhere
- Battery technology is gaining serious attention in California, suggesting a long-term trend is just beginning
- Molten salt energy storage is advancing at speed, offering power generation capabilities batteries cannot match
- Costs of molten salt energy storage are coming down at speed, making the business case for much wider use
- Despite decline, coal remains important and is becoming more efficient
- Ultra-supercritical coal finds significant gains in efficiency, slowing decline in usage
- Coal is in decline but will continue to be the dominant power source
- Conclusions
- Power generation industry is entering a challenging period of significant change
- Appendix
- Sources
- Further Reading
- Ask the analyst
- About MarketLine
- Disclaimer
- List of Tables
- Table 1: Nuclear power plants under construction in China due for completion between 2018 and 2020 6
- Table 2: Nuclear power stations outside of China and Russia to be completed between September 2018 and 2021 8
- Table 3: CSP plants with molten salt 19
- List of Figures
- Figure 1: Hinkley Point C construction, United Kingdom 7
- Figure 2: US coal consumption 2006-2017 (millions tons oil equivalent) 10
- Figure 3: Global power generation (quadrillion British Thermal Units) forecast for coal and natural gas 11
- Figure 4: Floating LNG regasification capacity by region 13
- Figure 5: Gemasolar power plant, Seville, Spain 14
- Figure 6: MeyGen project 15
- Figure 7: Tesla South Australia Battery 17
- Figure 8: Calpine, Guadalupe Energy Center 18
- Figure 9: UK coal production and consumption 1800-2016 (Million tons of oil equivalent) 21
- Figure 10: Percentage of US power generation from fossil fuels, 2006-2017 22
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