NatGas combined cycle plants were 40% of proposed total capacity additions
The EIA has released its report on utility-scale power plants planned and built in the United States and natural gas continues to lead the way.
Power plant developers told EIA they planned to install 25.1 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity in 2017.
Here is how it developed:
- 7 GW (78%) came online last year as scheduled,
- 3 GW of planned capacity were delayed into 2018 or later,
- only a handful of projects were cancelled.
Natural gas combined-cycle plants accounted for 10.1 GW, or 40%, of the total proposed capacity for 2017.
- 5GW (74%) of the planned capacity came online within the year with 2.6GW being delayed until 2018.
Solar and wind added 3.9GW and 5.9GW respectively in 2017.
The U.S.’s actual capacity continues to outperform the anticipated for the second year in a row, thanks to the large capacity additions from solar and wind.
The EIA noted that “this can be attributed to changes in subsidies, faster installation times, and decreasing costs.” Whereas in natural gas the production and planning times and costs are much more established, therefore easier to predict.
