According to S&P Global Market intelligence (S&P) data, 12,946 MW of power generating capacity in the US was retired in 2020, down from the 19,716 MW retired in 2019. Broken down by fuel type, shuttered coal plants made up the bulk of the retirements at 56.9%, followed by gas at 19.2%, and nuclear at 12.7%.…
Mild winter weather and the global COVID-19 pandemic drove natural gas prices in 2020 to the lowest annual average prices in several decades, averaging $2.05 per MMBtu at the national benchmark Henry Hub in Louisiana, according to EIA data. Natural gas demand for heating was low due to the mild weather, and economic shutdowns triggered…
The average operating heat rate for combined-cycle generators has declined over the last five years. According to the EIA, natural gas combined-cycle power generators installed since 2015 have an average heat rate of 6,654 Btu/kWh. This average is nearly 25% lower than units installed before 2000, which have an average operating heat rate of 8,840…
Installed large-scale battery storage systems in the United States reached an all-time high as of the end of 2018. According to the EIA, a total of 125 installed battery storage systems having a combined capacity of 869 MW were operational in the US as of 2018. These figures are a significant increase compared to 2010…
