From OilPrice, September 24:
- TC Energy plans to invest $8.5B in U.S. power projects over five years, betting on soaring natural gas demand from AI data centers, manufacturing, and LNG exports.
- Analysts expect natural gas to remain the only fossil fuel gaining share in major economies by 2050.
- Wood Mackenzie warns of rising costs, turbine supply constraints, and competition from cheaper renewables
Canadian energy infrastructure company, TC Energy Corp. (NYSE:TRP), has unveiled plans to invest $8.5 billion over the next five years in U.S. power projects, banking on predictions of a 45 billion cubic feet per day increase in natural gas demand to meet surging power demand. According to TC Energy CEO François Poirier, gas-fired generation will power the ongoing AI build-out, adding that his company has a footprint in eight of the ten largest U.S. electric utilities.
“It’s all about energy--and natural gas is going to be the backbone,” Poirier said in an interview.
Poirier says favorable policies by the Trump administration will make it easier for the company to achieve its lofty goal, saying that time spent on permitting and construction could be cut in half. The energy executive has predicted that U.S. LNG exports will double from the current 12 bcf/d to 24 bcf/d over the next 10 years. Back in May, Poirier reaffirmed TC Energy’s capital expenditure guidance of $5.5 billion to $6 billion in the current year, and said it remains on track to place assets worth $8.5 billion into service in 2025. TC Energy reported that its projects are tracking ~15% below budget.
TC Energy is not the only organization that has predicted robust growth in U.S. natural gas demand.
Last year, Morgan Stanley predicted that the U.S. natural gas market is entering a new growth cycle thanks to the advent of AI data centers, clean energy manufacturing and the cryptocurrencies boom. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) global electricity demand increased by 4.3% in 2024, up from 2.5% growth recorded in 2023.
Meanwhile, S&P Global Commodity Insights recently predicted that natural gas will be the only fossil fuel that will increase its share in the energy mix of the United States, China, and India by 2050, even as oil and coal usage decline globally. S&P Global has projected that renewables will supply 20% of global energy by 2050, up from just 4% currently. “By 2050, gas shall be the only fossil fuel with a potential increase in the energy mix for the US, China, and India,” the report stated....
....MUCH MORE
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