A continued increase in demand for natural gas for use in power generation is expected to be the biggest driver for US gas demand in the coming year, the chief economist of the American Petroleum Institute said. “The biggest trend is probably what we’ve seen in previous years and that’s more natural gas in power generation, as we see more coal plants shut down, primarily for environmental regulations,” John Felmy said in an interview Wednesday. “You may see some increases in industry use as the economy improves and perhaps some commercial [demand], but I think electric power is going to be the biggest growth.” According to the “The State of American Energy Report 2015,” API’s annual outlook on US energy trends for the new year released earlier this week, “The United States has vaulted past Russia to become the world’s largest natural gas producer […]