Samuel OskysAccording to the most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), electricity generation from natural gas will go up by 6 per cent by the end of 2019 and up 2 per cent in 2020.
Electricity generation from wind sources will also go up 6 per cent this year and will boost itself up to 14 per cent next year.
On the other hand, electricity generation via coal will be dropping by 15 per cent by the end of 2019 and 9 per cent in 2020.
The EIA estimates that natural gas generation will reach the highest growth in the mid-Atlantic sector, whereas Texas will reach the highest growth in wind power generation.
At the start of 2019, it was expected that natural gas, wind and solar capacities would lead the new electricity capacity in the US, while coal generation would account for most of the scheduled capacity retirements.
In the recent STEO produced by the EIA, expected the share of US utility-scale electricity generation from natural gas plants to go up from 34 per cent to 37 per cent in 2019 and then bump to 38 per cent in 2020.
The EIA expressed that wind, solar, and other non-hydropower renewables shares combined accounted for 10 per cent of the United States’ utility-scale generation back in 2018. This share is estimated to remain the same this year and to go 12 per cent next year.
In 2019, annual generation from wind is expected to exceed hydropower generation and become the leading source of renewable electricity generation—and it will stay so in 2020.
As regards the share of coal generation in the US, it’s expected to drop to 22 per cent in 2020.
EIA mentioned in their report that for the first time ever back in April 2019, renewables held a greater share than coal in the US monthly generation. This gives us a clearer indication of the long-term trends of coal and renewable generation.
