Natural gas use has accounted for about 10 percent of all global warming emissions. The market for gas continues to expand rapidly. This growth is due to new gas turbines, which are cheaper to install than coal plants and easier to site and get permits for, and the currently low cost of gas. Provided gas prices stay low, this trend will continue. An even better technology for converting gas to electricity is rapidly approaching the market, the fuel cell.
Fuel cells convert gas directly into power without combustion.
A molecule of natural gas is made up of carbon and hydrogen. When the hydrogen is separated from the carbon and fed into a fuel cell, it combines with oxygen to produce water, electricity and heat. The carbon is released as carbon dioxide, although in much smaller quantities than from gas turbines. They are completely silent and can be made in a wide range of sizes, small enough to power a car and large enough to provide electricity, heat and hot water to apartment buildings and factories. Some people see natural gas-powered fuel cells as a critical bridge to an energy system run completely on hydrogen.