Gas Is the New Coal With Risk of $100 Billion in Stranded Assets

Gas Is the New Coal With Risk of $100 Billion in Stranded Assets

Rachel MorisonApril 16, 2021, 9:00 PM·6 min read1 / 2Gas Is the New Coal With Risk of $100 Billion in Stranded Assets(Bloomberg) -- Natural gas is falling out of favor with emissions-wary investors and utilities at a quicker pace than coal did, catching some power generators unaware and potentially leaving them stuck with billions of dollars of assets they can't sell.Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are among the banks that strengthened their financing restrictions on thermal coal under pressure from shareholders wanting to avoid the fuel, and the expectation is that gas is next. Executives at some western European companies say they're already struggling to sell gas-fired facilities.“If you find out somebody who is ready to offer a good price for our gas plants in Spain, then we are ready to sell,” said Jose Ignacio Sanchez Galan, chief executive officer at Iberdrola SA in Spain. “We are not finding people.”The cost of renewables has dropped dramatically during the past decade, making gas-fired stations less competitive.Phasing out gas in power generation is just a first step. Cutting back use of the fuel in heating, transport and industry would wreak more potential damage. Europe wants to reach net-zero emissions by