Siemens is to spend around $1.3bn to expand production of gas turbines and fend off General Electric as they jostle for share of the expanding market.

The German conglomerate, which claims the No. 1 spot in larger, flexible turbines, is betting rising U.S. shale-gas output and its focus on gas-turbines will help it outflank GE and Alstom, which focused more on steam-turbines.

Siemens are looking to capitalise as U.S. spending on upgrading power plants to meet tighter emission rules may touch $100bn, and falling gas prices will likely tempt utilities away from coal, Bloomberg reports.

As well as replacing aging power plants, the turbine market is also driven by stricter legislation on emissions, with gas being a lower carbon polluter than coal. That will ultimately lead to half of all U.S. coal plants being upgraded or replaced,

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