Some states and cities are pushing ahead with efforts to ban the use of natural gas, but it hasn’t stopped the growth of gas to power electricity in the U.S.
A new government report shows the use of natural gas to power electric generating plants increased in 2020 resulting in 57% of the nation’s power plants fueled by natural gas.
The Energy Information Administration stated that as the U.S. generation mix shifted away from coal and to natural gas and renewables, the utilization rate of natural gas combined-cycle fleet rose from 35% since 2005.
The relatively low price of natural gas is one reason as well as improved thermal efficiency and economies of scale from advances in turbine design, according to the EIA study released this week.
“As a result, the average annual capacity factor, or utilization rate, for newer NGCC generators in the United States is slightly higher than that of older, less efficient generators,” stated the EIA release.
In 2020, the U.S. electric power sector added 5.8 gigawatts (GW) of combined-cycle generating capacity, bringing total U.S. NGCC capacity to 259.9 GW.
The highest use is in the Midwest and the mid-Atlantic states, mostly because the regional transmission PJM Interconnection is home to the Marcellus Shale, the deep natural gas reserve where there has been increased natural gas production.
Of the 51.1 GW of NGCC capacity operating in PJM, 52% came online between 2008 and 2020. These plants, which are the newest and, therefore, more likely to use advanced turbine technologies, had an average capacity factor of 71% in 2020, the highest across all regions and generator age groups.
Source: EIA
