Renewables, Natural Gas to Lead New US Electric Capacity
Wind, natural gas, and solar capacity will lead the new electricity capacity in the United States this year, while coal-fired generation will account for more than half of scheduled capacity retirements, the US Energy Information Administration said in its latest inventory of electric generators.
In 2019, the US electric power sector is expected to add 23.7 gigawatts of new capacity, while 8.3 GW capacity is planned to be retired, Oil Price reported.
New utility-scale capacity will be led by wind power, which will account for 46% of the additions, followed by natural gas with a 34% share of new capacity, and solar photovoltaics, which will make up 18% of new electric capacity, the EIA said.
The remaining 2% of new additions will consist mainly of other renewables and battery storage capacity.
In wind power, a total of 10.9 GW of capacity is currently planned to start up this year, with Texas, Iowa, and Illinois accounting for more than half of the 2019 planned wind capacity additions.
New natural gas capacity will be mostly combined-cycle plants, which are planned to add 6.1 GW of electric capacity, while combustion-turbine plants are scheduled for 1.4 GW new capacity.
Most of the natural gas-powered electric capacity is planned to become operational by the middle of the year in order to be able to meet high summer demand, the EIA said.
Close to 60 % of all new natural gas-fired capacity will take place in three states -- Pennsylvania, Florida, and Louisiana.
source: Financial Tribune
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