by Brianna Crandall — March 24, 2017 — A new white paper from Navigant Research analyzes five global trends for distributed natural gas (DNG) in 2017 and beyond, including the key determinants driving global investment and related opportunities. Although geared toward investors, the report contains insights about the industry for facilities professionals as well. According to the white paper, despite its relative maturity, DNG-fueled generation is undergoing a transformation.
Thanks to key developments in technology, new business models, and the changing regulatory environment, established DNG technologies are now being used in new applications. Access to cheap natural gas, demand for resilient onsite power, and improved controls offerings are improving the value proposition for customers, and regulators are recognizing the benefits of cleaner, dispatchable distributed generation as grids experience growing supply variability from intermittent renewables.
Adam Forni, senior research analyst with Navigant Research, pointed out:
As natural gas becomes more globally available, opportunities are growing for DNG generation. Mature technologies like generators are developing personality and becoming more interactive thanks to smarter controls, demand for resiliency, and a need to balance increasingly variable grids.
According to the report, as macroeconomic, regulatory, and technological forces push the DNG industry into a new era, the following five trends are expected to be the most impactful in the next few years:
- Five years later, the Gold Age of Gas goes global.
- To support renewables, gas will compete with storage — and often win.
- DER software surge will unlock DNG revenue stacking in the Energy Cloud.
- Stationary fuel cell vendors mending from a tough 2016 will look abroad.
- Regulators will recognize the locational and fast-start benefits of DNG.
The white paper, Distributed Natural Gas: Five Trends for 2017 and Beyond, analyzes five global trends for DNG in 2017 and beyond. The study examines the key determinants driving global investment in DNG and the related opportunities.
Each of the topics in this white paper is examined more deeply in research reports and ongoing research from Navigant Research’s Distributed Natural Gas Research Service. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the Navigant Research Web site.
