Over the last four winters, winter storms Uri (February 2021), Elliott (December 2022), and most recently, Heather (January 2024) interrupted weekly U.S. natural gas production by more than 15 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), according to daily estimates from S&P Global Commodity Insights. These declines were the largest interruptions … [continued]
Operators plan to retire 5.2 gigawatts (GW) of U.S. electric generating capacity in 2024, a 62% decrease from last year when 13.5 GW was retired and the least in any year since 2008, according to our latest Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. Coal and natural gas jointly account for 91% of the planned capacity retirements in the United States this year.
Developers and power plant owners plan to add 62.8 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale electric-generating capacity in 2024, according to our latest Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. This addition would be 55% more added capacity than the 40.4 GW added in 2023 (the most since 2003) and points to a continued … [continued]
On January 16, 2024, a record high of 141.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas was consumed in the U.S. Lower 48 states (L48), exceeding the previous record set on December 23, 2022, according to estimates from S&P Global Commodity Insights. Well-below-normal temperatures caused by a large mass of arctic … [continued]
I just wrapped up reports on new power capacity in the United States and electricity generation in the United States. Clearly, the trend is toward more renewables and less coal. Aside from showing power capacity additions from month to month by energy source, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) includes … [continued]
There’s a funny misconception hanging around that coal provides almost all of the electricity for the USA, or at least most of it. Those who love to hate on electric vehicles are fond of saying that EVs are powered by coal. A decade or two ago, yes, that was much … [continued]
Looking at official figures from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and adding in a CleanTechnica estimate for small-scale solar power additions, we conclude that 71% of new power capacity additions in the United States came from solar power and wind power in October. Month-to-month variations in new power additions can … [continued]
U.S. coal-related CO2 emissions decreased by 7%, or 68 million metric tons (MMmt), in 2022 relative to 2021. This decrease was largely due to an 8% decline in coal-fired power generation because of retiring coal-fired generating capacity. Changes in electricity generation sources decreased the carbon intensity of electricity by 4% in … [continued]
We forecast the U.S. energy sector to emit about 4,790 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) in 2023, a 3% decrease from 2022. Much of this decline results from lower electricity generation from coal-fired power plants due to higher generation from renewable sources such as solar power. We expect … [continued]
The average construction costs for solar photovoltaic systems, wind turbines, and natural gas-fired electricity generators all decreased in the United States in 2021 compared with 2020, according to our recently released data. Average construction costs fell by 18% from 2020 for natural gas-fired generators, by 5% for wind turbines, and by … [continued]
