Gas

Power Generation from Gas and Renewables to Rise Slightly in 2018 and 2019

The amount of electricity produced from natural gas and renewable resources in the U.S. is projected to rise slightly in 2018 and 2019.
 

The amount of electricity produced from natural gas and renewable resources in the U.S. is projected to rise slightly in 2018 and 2019.

The Short-Term Energy Outlook released June 12 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates the share of gas-fired generation will rise from 32 percent in 2017 to 34 percent in 2018 and 2019. Coal’s share of the generation pie is expected to drop from 30 percent last year to 28 percent this year and next year.

The outlook also projects U.S. natural gas production will reach new highs in 2018, averaging 81.2 billion cubic feet per day, up from 73.6 Bcf/d last year. In 2019, gas production is projected to rise again to an all-time high, averaging 83.8 Bcf/d.

Nonhydropower renewable resources accounted for less than 10 percent of U.S. generation in 2017. That number is projected to rise to more than 10 percent this year and to nearly 11 percent in 2019, EIA said. Meanwhile, hydropower’s share of U.S. generation will remain unchanged over the next two years at around 7 percent.

Daily wind power production is expected to average 746,000 megawatt-hours in 2018 and 777,000 MWh in 2019, up from 697,000 MWh last year.

“If factors such as precipitation and snowpack remain as forecast, conventional hydropower is forecast to generate 752,000 MWh/d in 2019, which would make it the first year that wind generation exceeds hydropower generation in the United States,” EIA said.

 

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