Almost one-third of U.S. gas plants losing money, $24 billion at risk

Gas-fired power plants are increasingly making a loss in both Europe and the US, a situation not helped by soaring fuel prices, a report from Carbon Tracker reveals.

The financial think tank estimates that developers of most gas plants planned or under construction will never recover their initial investment and more than $24bn (£17.5bn) is at risk in the US and nearly £2.6bn in the UK, even if plants run for their full planned lifetime.

Many governments are pledging to meet net zero carbon by 2050, which will force most gas plants to be closed before the end of their lifetime unless there is significant progress in technologies to reduce their emissions.

US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson have both committed to deliver a carbon-free power sector by 2035, while the EU has also made clear that gas has no long-term future.

The report calculates that if gas plants are phased out in line with a target of net zero by 2050, nearly $16bn of investment in units that are currently profitable could be stranded.

20 October 2021

IEEFA