Utility Week: Europe heading for gas plant shortage

Financial incentives to build new gas plant may not be sufficient to encourage investors to build all the capacity Europe needs.

Policymakers in Europe's energy sector are changing their views about natural gas.

Only one or two years ago the region's dependence on imports of natural gas was a cause for alarm, but now gas is starting to be seen as the fuel that will help Europe ­transform itself into a low-­carbon economy while keeping the lights on, particularly in a post-­Fukushima world.

In March, the UK government announced special measures to address barriers to investment in new gas generation, while elsewhere in Europe the debate continues about which mechanisms would best encourage the building of flexible capacity, such as gas-fired plant.  MORE