LNG Supply for Peaker Plants

A peaking unit earns its revenue in a handful of hours a year, and those hours are usually the ones when the gas system is most constrained. Stored LNG gives the plant firm fuel onsite for exactly those hours, without paying to hold pipeline capacity for the rest of the year.

The problem with firm pipeline capacity for a unit that rarely runs

Simple cycle combustion turbines are built to start fast and stop fast. They are not built to run often. Across the U.S. fleet, simple cycle gas turbines averaged a capacity factor of roughly 13 percent in 2022, compared with about 56 percent for combined cycle plants, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Dispatch is concentrated too. EIA found combustion turbine capacity factors below 5 percent across most regions during off peak hours, roughly doubling during the late afternoon peak, with output tracking wholesale price signals rather than a schedule.

That creates an awkward fuel problem. Firm transportation is priced as a year round reservation. A unit running a few hundred hours pays for twelve months of capacity to cover a few days of dispatch. The common workaround, interruptible transportation, is cheaper precisely because it can be curtailed, and it tends to be curtailed on the coldest days, which are the days the peaker is called.

What onsite LNG changes

Fuel becomes an inventory decision instead of a capacity reservation. You stage volume ahead of the season or the event, it sits in cryogenic storage at the plant, and it vaporizes into pipeline quality gas on demand. Nothing upstream can curtail a tank that is already on your site.

Where LNG fits a peaking asset

  • Seasonal pre positioning. Fill onsite storage before winter or summer peak, draw it down across the season, and top off between events.
  • Backup to interruptible transport. Keep the cheaper pipeline contract and hold LNG as the physical hedge against curtailment.
  • Sites with no pipeline at all. Units sited for interconnection or land reasons rather than gas access can still run on delivered fuel.
  • Dual fuel conversion. Plants moving off distillate backup can replace the diesel tank with LNG storage and cut both fuel cost and emissions.
  • New units ahead of the lateral. Run on delivered LNG while the gas lateral is permitted and built.

Sizing a program

Peakers are sized by run scenario, not by daily burn. The question is not how much gas the unit consumes per day at full load, it is how many hours you need to be able to run without a delivery.

2,500

gallons of LNG per megawatt per day at continuous full output, roughly 104 gallons per megawatt hour

10,000 to 13,000

gallons in a single LNG trailer

Worked example

A 20 MW peaking unit asked to hold eight hours of full output needs roughly 16,700 gallons of LNG in storage, or about one and a half trailer loads. Cover four such events without a resupply and the storage requirement is closer to 67,000 gallons. Storage modules are leased against that number, not bought.

Figures are planning rules of thumb for scoping conversations. Actual consumption depends on heat rate, ambient conditions, and load profile, and should be confirmed against the unit's own performance data.

How the supply works

LNG is loaded at a liquefaction facility, moved to the plant by trailer or ISO container, and held in cryogenic storage at the site. Ambient vaporizers convert it back to gas at the pressure and temperature the turbine requires. Tank levels are monitored by telemetry so replenishment is scheduled against actual draw rather than a fixed calendar.

For peaking service, the delivery plan matters as much as the fuel. Dispatch is unpredictable, so the program is built around a standing reorder point, a committed response time for surge deliveries, and a named supply source with a backup source behind it.

Who provides this service

VP Ventures delivers LNG as a service to peaking and bridge generation assets. We handle sourcing, transportation, storage, vaporization equipment, maintenance, and delivery scheduling under a single contract priced in energy units, with no capital investment required at the plant. Programs are structured seasonally, on call, or as standing backup to an existing interruptible transport position.

Frequently asked questions

Is LNG cheaper than firm pipeline capacity for a peaker?

It depends on how often the unit runs. Delivered LNG carries a higher cost per unit of energy than pipeline gas, but it is paid only on volume taken rather than on capacity reserved. The lower the capacity factor, the better delivered LNG compares.

Can stored LNG cover a multi day cold snap?

Yes, if the storage is sized for it. The constraint is tank volume onsite plus the ability to resupply during the event, which is why supply source redundancy and trucking commitments are part of the program design.

Does the turbine need modification to burn vaporized LNG?

Vaporized LNG is delivered as pipeline quality natural gas. Most units require no fuel system modification, though gas composition and Wobbe index should be checked against the turbine specification before contracting.

Do we buy the storage and vaporization equipment?

No. Equipment is provided and maintained as part of the service contract, then demobilized when the program ends.

Related

LNG Peak Shaving LNG Backup for Pipeline Interruptions Bridge Power LNG Consumption Calculator

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