Le mythe du gaz comme énergie de transition

The report challenges the narrative of fossil gas as a necessary transition fuel for grid flexibility. It distinguishes between Open Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGT), which are agile but inefficient, and Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT), which are efficient for baseload power but suffer from premature aging, higher emissions, and reduced profitability when used for peak demand. The author highlights that CCGT viability often relies on costly government capacity mechanisms funded by consumers. Furthermore, a global shortage of gas turbines is delaying projects and increasing costs. The document advocates for replacing gas with sustainable flexibility solutions, including battery storage, pumped hydro, demand-side response, and improved interconnections, urging financial institutions to cease funding new gas power projects.

• Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT) are designed for stable 'baseload' production and are poorly suited for the rapid fluctuations required for grid flexibility; using them for peak demand leads to premature component aging, increased maintenance costs, and reduced profitability.
• When CCGTs are used for peak demand or operate at low load factors (below 50%), their efficiency drops and emissions of CO2, NOx, CO, and VOCs increase, making them more polluting than when used for baseload power.
• The economic viability of gas plants is often maintained through expensive capacity mechanisms funded by taxpayers and consumers; in the EU between 2015 and 2024, fossil fuel plants received 53% (47.7 billion euros) of total capacity payments, with 43.5 billion euros going specifically to fossil gas plants.
• A significant shortage of gas turbines, dominated by GE Vernova, Siemens Energy, and Mitsubishi Power (who control over 70% of production), is causing project delays and price spikes; CCGT costs rose from $800/kW in 2021 to approximately $2600-$2800/kW by 2026.
• Sustainable alternatives for grid flexibility are more efficient and cost-effective than gas, including Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for short-term needs, Pumped Storage Hydropower (STEP) for mass storage, Demand Side Response (DSR), and Inverter Based Resources (IBR) for synthetic inertia.

APA

Sebrecht, P.-A. (2026). Le mythe du gaz comme énergie de transition. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Reclaim-Finance-Le-mythe-du-gaz-comme-energie-de-transition-2026-02.pdf

Chicago

Sebrecht, Pierre-Alain. Le mythe du gaz comme énergie de transition. Reclaim Finance, 2026. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Reclaim-Finance-Le-mythe-du-gaz-comme-energie-de-transition-2026-02.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sebrecht |first1=Pierre-Alain |title=Le mythe du gaz comme énergie de transition |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=February 2026 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Reclaim-Finance-Le-mythe-du-gaz-comme-energie-de-transition-2026-02.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sebrecht2026mythe, author = {Sebrecht, Pierre-Alain}, title = {{Le mythe du gaz comme énergie de transition}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2026}, month = feb, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Reclaim-Finance-Le-mythe-du-gaz-comme-energie-de-transition-2026-02.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }