Natural Gas

In the United States, natural gas generation will remain a cornerstone firm capacity resource into the coming decades. The need for existing and new natural gas generation is being propelled by a range of factors including age-based coal generation retirements, generation repowering, environmental considerations, economics and load growth. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based data centers and future manufacturing reshoring are driving projected record electric load growth in the United States. These types of loads often do not have traditional on and off-peak behavior, which can be challenging for a combination of renewable generation and storage to accommodate. While research is on-going in terms of optimizing data center load profiles around renewable production cycles, the need for fully dispatchable generation over multi-day periods is growing. Because of these considerations, natural gas generation will continue to complement renewable generation and storage installations into the distant future. Due to these factors large-scale combined cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) are once again emerging as a popular alternative within utility integrated resource plans (IRPs). While supply chain constraints for CCGTs are expected to remain tight through the 2030s, the need for dispatchable baseload resources continues to increase. The 2025 PJM capacity auction cleared at its maximum price cap, demonstrating the need for new firm generation (PJM Interconnection, 2024). While PJM contains “data center alley”, the shortage of generation capacity is occurring for most ISOs. Both smaller simple cycle gas turbines (SCGTs) and CCGTs are being pursued to accommodate load growth. Many recent utility IRPs are showing a propensity to select these alternatives when new data centers are introduced to the system. Challenges are arising though in that while SCGTs have a shorter procurement window, their operational economics are not as favorable compared to CCGTs. The current supply for CCGTs cannot keep up with demand, and as such there is a growing backlog in orders. General Electric and other gas turbine developers are expanding their manufacturing capabilities, but the supply chain squeeze is expected to continue into the near future. In addition to the issues with gas turbine supply, there is a growing concern related to the price of electricity across the United States. Public utility commissions are sensitive to the risk of both stranded investments tied to powering data centers, as well as passing capital construction costs to utility customers. Due to these concerns, data center developers are often choosing to partially bring their own generation resources rather than fully relying on utility power purchases. Recent discussion in the ERCOT surrounding the potential to allow for the interruption of data center loads up to fifty percent are amplifying the need for data center developers to explore alternative options. Early analyses and studies can help clients face these challenges through quantifying opportunities and risk associated with natural gas generation; in particular, it’s important to find a partner who is capable of studying a combination of utility scale or behind-the-meter natural gas or hybrid resources to help accommodate hyperscale or more traditional electric loads. Ulteig’s team of experts has the experience and technology to offer services and studies to support the clients’ needs, including: Capacity Expansion Analysis – Ulteig’s team of resource planning experts help clients determine the best alternatives to supply a given load, including hyperscale. A variety of alternatives ranging from natural gas reciprocating generators, SCGTs, CCGTs, renewables, storage and any other relevant sources are considered. An exploration is completed for best options related to full grid interconnection or partial/full islanding constrained by both economics and reliability. Transmission Interconnection and Power Market Risk Review – Ulteig can perform detailed analysis related to generator and load interconnection. This includes understanding and quantifying the impact from NERC and ISO interconnection requirements. In addition, Ulteig can perform full transmission congestion and load/resource curtailment risk assessment based upon security constrained economic dispatch (SCED) and security constrained economic commitment (SCUC). The combination of these studies will enable the understanding of interconnection and operational risk subject to transmission contingency. This analysis is a full suite and can accommodate purely natural gas resources or a hybrid blend of alternatives in conjunction with associated loads. Rate and Tariff Impact Analysis – To complement the capacity expansion analysis, Ulteig can perform utility rate and tariff impact analysis to move from planning to full life cycle costing. A full review of relevant utility and ISO rates and tariffs is performed to ensure all information is provided with lucid diagrams that are illustrative of detailed technical reports and write-ups. The energy industry is evolving faster than ever before and the need for every more electrons on the grid is an open-ended challenge. Ulteig is helping clients face these challenges head-on. Connect with Ulteig’s Energy Services team today and build a generation strategy that keeps your growth on track. Natural Gas | Ulteig

Utilities, independent power producers (IPPs), and commercial developers have faced increasingly complex environmental and permitting requirements in recent years, along with growing uncertainty around future permitting as federal efforts aim to streamline review processes and some states introducing new or expanded regulations to address perceived gaps in forthcoming federal standards. When unanticipated environmental challenges delay schedules, increase costs, or impact regulatory compliance, timely delivery can become more difficult to achieve. For organizations managing energy infrastructure projects, a proactive, integrated approach to environmental field services is essential to efficient, risk-managed project delivery. Turning Regulatory Complexity into Actionable Insight Environmental projects often intersect with multiple technical, operational and regulatory requirements, from federal permitting to local conservation restrictions. “We focus on early engagement,” says Grady Wolf, Director of Environmental, Cultural & GIS at Ulteig. “By getting involved at the start, we can flag potential concerns, recommend project adjustments and ensure risks are accounted for before clients make major investments.” A prime example is a major gas company’s development and reclamation program managed by Ulteig. All projects are reviewed for environmental and cultural considerations during initial planning phases both by desktop analysis and field review if necessary, and project design is finalized in coordination with the Ulteig team based on findings. The team routinely helps manage work in and around sensitive resources during construction as well as coordination and permitting with agencies. Following construction, twice annually, the team evaluates hundreds of miles of assets awaiting closure, verifying that site restoration aligns with state standards, and is acceptable to landowners. Grady notes, “Challenges range from early identification and avoidance of natural and cultural resources, coordination with regulatory agencies and acquisition of permits, to diverse soil conditions, subsidence, vegetation establishment and noxious weeds infestations during reclamation reviews. Our approach ensures compliance and builds trust with both landowners and regulatory agencies, while fulfilling the client’s mission of being good stewards of the land.” Identifying Risks Before They Become Problems Clients often underestimate the impact of localized regulatory nuances. For instance, a recent data center project faced unforeseen restrictions due to conservation easements overlooked in early planning. “Missing these details can create major delays and unexpected costs,” Grady explains. “By understanding federal, state and local regulations, we help clients avoid surprises and adjust project plans proactively.” Advanced technologies further enhance Ulteig’s predictive capabilities. Drone-based thermal imaging and high-resolution surveys allow teams to detect cultural or ecological sensitivities across large areas. Grady emphasizes, “These technologies let us conduct targeted field investigations, avoid unnecessary work and make data-driven routing decisions, which benefits the client and the environment.” Integrated Data-Driven Solutions Across Teams Environmental field services rarely operate in isolation. Ulteig frequently collaborates with power generation, capacity, interconnection, and other technical studies teams, as well as power services, survey, right-of-way, and design teams, to deliver integrated solutions. “When constraints arise, our cross-functional teams immediately adjust alignments because all key service areas are operating together. This integration accelerates problem-solving and saves time and money for the client.” Ulteig’s PinPoint®️GIS platform is central to this approach. “PinPoint allows real-time overlays of route designs, environmental constraints and landowner issues,” Grady says. “It minimizes miscommunication, keeps everyone working from the same data and makes project delivery more predictable and collaborative.” This information can all be shared in real time with the client, which many have expressed how beneficial this is for making project decisions. Environmental Field Services as a Strategic Advantage Early environmental involvement often influences core project decisions. “Our guidance can prompt clients to change project design or location, adjust construction timelines or change installation methods,” Grady notes. “While these upfront constrains reviews require early involvement in projects and add some additional cost, they prevent long-term delays, maximize regulatory certainty and reduce risk.” At its core, Ulteig’s approach is partnership driven. Grady emphasizes, “We see ourselves as an extension of the client’s team. Taking shared ownership and responsibility for the project’s success is how we consistently achieve positive outcomes.” Empowering Clients to Achieve Sustainable Risk-Managed Outcomes Energy infrastructure projects succeed when environmental, technical and operational expertise are aligned from the start. “Our initiative-taking and integrated services give clients actionable insights, real-time data and collaborative solutions,” says Grady. “This ensures projects are delivered on time, on budget and with minimized environmental or permitting surprises.” Learn how Ulteig’s integrated environmental planning and monitoring services can help your projects stay on schedule, reduce risk and ensure regulatory compliance.

For years, grid operators, utilities and NERC have warned about the risk of the U.S. electric grid becoming too dependent on intermittent resources and batteries to serve load. To bring more balance and diversity back to the generation fleet, several ISOs/RTOs have adopted interconnection processes that expedite the deployment of what the markets consider to be “reliability resources.” This has led to the prioritization of thousands of megawatts of thermal generation in PJM and MISO. A dramatic increase in load growth forecasts driven primarily by investment in datacenters has developers and load serving entities seeking capacity wherever they can get it, from traditional natural gas to more emerging platforms like SMRs. This is especially the case for assets that do not require new bulk transmission, which while showing promise in places such as west Texas, is hitting snags in other regions like SPP and MISO. A change in administration in Washington D.C. in 2025 has hastened nearly all of these trends. The accelerated phaseout of the IRA wind and solar tax credits has many of our clients looking to other asset classes to fill their generation development pipelines beyond 2027. The integrated resource plans of many utility clients look very different than they did just two years ago, especially with the White House fully backing the race to lead in artificial intelligence through rapid data center expansion. The market response has been swift and measurable. As Reuters reported in August, the U.S. now far outpaces the rest of the world in natural gas generation projects in pre-construction. As this transition unfolds, Ulteig is well positioned to help clients adapt. We have a long history in conventional sources of energy, and many of our utility clients continue to operate gigawatts of thermal resources. Ulteig’s Field Services and Environmental teams have permitted thousands of miles of pipelines, and our Studies experts model the interconnection of large data center loads while optimizing site-specific generation. Across our business, Ulteig has subject matter experts with deep backgrounds in thermal resources. Ulteig remains committed to supporting clients as they work to complete their wind and solar development pipelines before the tax credits expire. In parallel, we’re helping these same clients, as well as new ones, respond to rapidly changing market dynamics. Agility and unbiased, data-driven decision-making will remain essential for sustained success.