Data shows 68 gas plant projects cancelled or put on hold
Assessing economic case for new projects much harder
EVs could also reduce need for standby gas generation

LONDON, Nov 21 Reuters Giant batteries that ensure stable power supply by offsetting intermittent renewable supplies are becoming cheap enough to make developers abandon scores of projects for gasfired generation worldwide.

The longterm economics of gasfired plants, used in Europe and some parts of the United States primarily to compensate for the intermittent nature of wind and solar power, are changing quickly, according to Reuters39; interviews with more than a dozen power plant developers, project finance bankers, analysts and consultants.

They said some battery operators are already supplying backup power to grids at a price competitive with gas power plants, meaning gas will be used less.

The shift challenges assumptions about longterm gas demand and could mean natural gas has a smaller role in the energy transition than posited by the biggest, listed energy majors.

In the first half of the year, 68 gas power plant projects were put on hold or cancelled globally, according to data provided exclusively to Reuters by U.S.based nonprofit Global Energy Monitor.

Recent cancellations include electricity plant developer Competitive Power Ventures decision announced in October to abandon a gas plant project in New Jersey in the United States. It cited low power prices and the absence of government…