Overview

Gas-fired capacity in development has risen in the last few years, due to increasing demand from electrification, industrialization, and data centers.

Global oil- and gas-fired capacity in development rose nearly a third in 2025, reaching a total of 1,047 gigawatts (GW). The United States (252 GW) surpassed China (153 GW) for the first time as the top developer of gas power. In the U.S., more than one-third of this capacity is slated to directly power data centers on site, and many more on-grid projects are planned to meet an anticipated increase in energy demand from AI. Together, the U.S. and China make up over one-third of global gas power capacity in development. 

Over 50% of in-development gas power capacity is concentrated in five countries, with the remaining 50% spread across 106 countries. Notably, coal-to-gas switching (conversions or replacements) accounts for 18% of in-development gas power globally. Oil is a small percentage of the global oil and gas power capacity fuel mix — approximately 6% of operating and 3% of in-development power capacity is exclusively oil. 

Global gas power expansion is bottlenecked by turbine production capacity, with manufacturer backlogs now stretching through 2030. Two-thirds of projects in development do not have a named manufacturer, potentially limiting the scale of the gas power expansion.

Methodology

Frequently asked questions