US Sees Steep 2017 Dip in Gas-Firing

US net electricity generation fell slightly last year, yet gas-fired generation fell even more sharply. Gas though remained the dominant feedstock for US power generation, and there was no resurgence for coal.

Net generation was 1.5% lower year on year in 2017 due to lower demand, but generation from coal and natural gas fell by 2.5% and 7.7% respectively, as renewable generation increased, according to a note from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) published March 20.

Although natural gas continued to be most-used fuel for electricity generation for the third consecutive year, natural gas-fired electricity generation was 105 terawatt-hours (TWh) lower year on year in 2017, which EIA said was its largest annual decline on record.

Coal-fired electricity generation also fell, but to a lesser extent, marking the first year since 2008 that both natural gas- and coal-fired electricity generation fell in the same year. 

Natural gas-fired generation in 2017 was 1,272.9 TWh, ahead of coal-fired generation at 1,207.9 TWh, both ahead of nuclear 805 TWh and hydro 300 TWh (all from utility-scale facilities only), according to latest data from EIA's Electric Power Monthly.

Whilst 6.3 GW of coal-fired generation capacity was retired in 2017 with no new units added, 4GW of natural gas-fired capacity was also retired – mostly steam turbine units. But 9.3 GW of new gas-fired plants came online during 2017, of which 8.2 GW were combined-cycle units.

For NGW, the data  - especially on no new coal units - do not suggest any shift toward coal, as a result of President Donald Trump's environmental policies. Rather, they suggest that renewable energy is still being actively promoted at regional and state level.