Cheap gas? Don't plan on it

Some commentators are toying with the notion that, because natural gas is cheap now, we should consider using it instead of coal or renewables to reduce our GHG emissions from power generation (or even for cheaper standalone economics, emissions aside). I don't buy it. My sense is that gas is only priced off of coal right now because there's a global recession reducing power demand and a glut of LNG, and that once economic growth resumes it will leap back up to pricing off of fuel oil. So unless you don't believe the world is laying the groundwork for the next oil price run-up by underinvesting in new supply capacity, starting to build a shiny new gas plant now because the stuff is $3/mmbtu this summer is foolhardy.

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