The natural gas industry is eager to see a jump in demand now that Germany has come up with a plan to end electricity generation by burning coal. That might never happen, according to a report by one of the nation’s largest energy companies.
The study, which hasn’t been made public, shows that gas demand in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the U.K. is expected to fall by as much as 16 percent by the end of the next decade from 2016 levels. By then, the cost of solar and battery systems will fall far enough that renewables may become the most cost-effective way to generate new flows of electricity.
