The government predicts that more than 27 gigawatts of new natural gas-fired capacity will come online in the U.S. in the next few years and some will come in Oklahoma and Texas.
The additional 27.3 gigawatts will be added between 2022 and 2025 reports the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The EIA said it will increase by 6% the nation’s current capacity which was 489.1 gigawatts as of August 2021.
Many of the planned natural gas-fired capacity additions are close to major shale plays in Texas, Florida and the Appalachia region. The one addition in Oklahoma is in the southwestern part of the state as the map reflects.
The Marcellus and Utica shale plays, those where some Oklahoma energy firms are active had led U.S. natural gas production in the past several years. An estimated 34% of U.S. dry natural gas production in 2021 came from the plays that stretch across Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Four states, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania have pipeline access to the Marcellus and Utica plays and account for a combined 43% of the natural gas-fired capacity planned to come online in the next few years.
After Illinois, Florida has the second-most natural gas-fired capacity additions planned to come online between 2022 and 2025 (3.2 GW). Although Florida does not produce significant amounts of natural gas, its regional pipeline networks have been continually expanding to serve natural gas-fired generation units as older coal- and oil-fired units retire.
Five new natural gas-fired plants plan to start commercial operations in Florida between 2022 and 2025: three plants are currently under construction, and two plants are not yet under construction but are scheduled to be completed by 2024.
More natural gas is produced in Texas than any other state reported the EIA. Most of its natural gas production comes from the Haynesville and Eagle Ford formations and multiple shale formations in the Permian Basin.
As of August, 70.7 GW of natural gas-fired capacity is currently operating in Texas, and another 2.8 GW of capacity additions is planned to come online between 2022 and 2025. Growth in natural gas production in Texas has encouraged natural gas-fired capacity additions and regional pipeline expansions to accommodate growing natural gas exports to Mexico, as well as record-high liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from terminals in South Texas and in Louisiana.
Source: EIA