The world natural gas consumption continues to grow, increasing its market share of total primary energy consumption. For the industrialized countries, natural gas is expected to provide the greatest increase in energy consumption, among the major fuels, due to the use in the electric power sector. Electricity can be produced using different kinds of fuel. The use of fuel gas for power generation has increased in the past and will play a more and important strategic role in the near future. The production of electricity through combined cycle power plants, with high thermodynamic efficiencies and low pollution into the atmosphere, will increase the use of gas in both repowering and new plants. The paper illustrates the following topics:
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The use of gas for power generation in the past, in the near and long term,
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The evolution of the combined cycle for power generation,
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The strategic gas role in the energetic scenarios.
On the whole, this paper aims at meeting the operators' expectations of the gas and power sector, wishing to get a comprehensive view of the growth prospects for gas in the power generation.
