GE Virtual Natural Gas Pipeline Brochure

GE Power & Water

Distributed Power

Delivering gas-fired
power where no gas
has gone before

Small gas networks for distributed power
whenever and wherever it’s needed.

GE Power & Water

Distributed Power

30-50%

27.5%

2025

50%

power producers have reported 30-50%
savings in operating costs when using
natural gas instead of diesel

burning natural gas instead of fuel oils
can reduce CO

gas could overtake oil and coal
as number one in global energy
market share by 2025

over half of the boom in natural gas
consumption will take place in China,
the Middle East, as well as Southeast
and South Asia.

emissions by 27.5%

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“Virtual” pipelines for
distributed power generation

“Virtual” pipelines are a substitute to physical pipelines that
distribute gas via land or sea transport . Virtual pipelines replicate
the continuous flow of energy in a pipeline with the movement of
gas via transportation logistics using trucks or ships.

Modular and Scalable

Virtual pipelines provide the ability to start from small systems and
progressively scale up for a relatively modest trade off on cost per
unit output. Scalability can lead to dramatically reduced investment
and transaction risks along with shortened development timelines.
The lower capital intensity allows a wider array of participants
with smaller balance sheets and different risk appetites to invest
in the opportunities.

Flexible

Physical pipelines are tied to the geographies they traverse. Virtual
pipelines, in contrast, are flexible to serve shifting demand centers
wherever rail, road or port infrastructure permit. These networks can
cater to multiple transport options and end points of fuel delivery
within an economically competitive radius from the gas source.

Resilient

In places with immature pipeline systems, a portion of the pipeline
span can go down and interrupt the flow of gas for weeks while
repairs take place. By their discrete nature, virtual pipelines are not
subject to the same vulnerability to single point failures and can be
built with redundancies at relatively low cost.

Distributed power and the Age of Gas

Power and gas industry dynamics are changing rapidly. Uncertainty
around traditional power development models, combined with
advancing technology, is creating new distributed power options.
Traditionally, large centralized power plants were built to capture
the economies of scale in power production. The costs of these
plants were spread over many customers and paid off over many

With a focus on customer value, GE brings technology and innovation
to enable distributed gas-to-power projects around the world.
The rise of distributed gas is one aspect of a larger energy mega-trend
GE has described as the “Age of Gas”.

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years. Multi-billion-dollar projects such as coal and nuclear power
plants have long development timelines and can be difficult to build
if institutional structures are weak and/or electric grids are immature.
The speed of development , lower capital intensity, and increasing
competitiveness
distributed power solutions.

are driving the emergence of new gas-based

Convening technologies to create customer value

Distributed gas-to-power technologies bring together next-generation, smaller, modular gas systems with distributed power generation.
Natural gas system development is often highly regional and project specific. Emerging small scale systems are no different, but have
standardized elements. The three important aspects to consider when developing distributed gas to power networks are segments,
scale, and solutions.

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Segments Scale Solutions

End-use or industry that defines fuel and

power requirement influence economics

Ex. • Peaking power or base load

• Grid connected or isolated

• Residential or industrial

Successful projects will create customer value while monetizing gas resources profitably. In general, a one-size-fits all approach is more
likely to underperform relative to a more flexible and diverse approach. The range of solutions for multiple segments and scales is one
of the key strengths of GE‘s portfolio of distributed power products and distributed gas solutions.

Energy requirements along with gas cost

and accessibility shape technology options

Ex. • Power: 0.5 MW or 100 MW

• Gas: 1 MMSCFD or 30 MMSCFD

Distributed gas to power system

combining technology, network logistics

and commercial structures that addresses

risk and regulatory aspects

1) For more on GE’s global gas perspective, see the Age of Gas and the Power of Networks at www.ge.com/AgeOfGas