U.S. to Add More than 16 GW of Gas-Fired Capacity through 2025

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--So far in 2023, a total of 6.8 gigawatts (GW) of natural gas-fired power-generation capacity has been brought online in the U.S., according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), with another 1.8 GW expected to be brought online before the end of the year. From 2024 through 2025, the EIA expects a total of 7.7 GW of U.S. gas-fired capacity to enter service. Industrial Info is tracking nearly $2 billion worth of U.S. gas-fired power-generation projects set to be completed before the end of the year, and more than $15.6 billion worth currently expected to wrap up from 2024 through 2025.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 U.S. states for gas-fired power-generation project completions through 2025, according to current projections.

The single highest-valued project nearing completion hails from the Deep South: Southern Company (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia) subsidiary Alabama Power's $850 million combined-cycle unit addition at its James M. Barry Power Station in Bucks, Alabama. The new unit, which started construction in early 2021, will provide more than 720 megawatts (MW) to the area in and around Mobile. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can learn more from a detailed project report.

The bulk of the gas-fired unit additions through 2025 are combined-cycle, as they are highly efficient and designed to run for extended periods of time, according to the EIA. About 4.8 GW of combined-cycle capacity is expected to be brought online in 2025, although many factors could delay or alter the projected investments or timelines.

In one of the nation's more sparsely populated regions, NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE) (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) is finishing up its $200 million Yellowstone County Generating Station in Laurel, Montana, which will add 175 MW to the state's grid via 18 reciprocating internal-combustion engines from Caterpillar Incorporated (NYSE:CAT) (Deerfield, Illinois). The plant resumed construction this summer, following a two-month delay related to a pollution permit. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's detailed project report.

In April, Yellowstone County District Court Judge Michael G. Moses ruled that construction on Yellowstone could not proceed because Montana's Department of Environmental Quality had not adequately considered the environmental impacts posed by the plant, according to The Daily Montanan. But the judge reversed his own decision in June, after the Montana Legislature passed a law that said state officials did not have to consider climate impacts from emissions when reviewing power plants. An appeal from NorthWestern on the April decision is still pending before the Montana Supreme Court.

Texas accounts for more investment in gas-fired plants set to wrap up before the end of 2025 than any other U.S. state, with one major project set to wrap up before the end of 2023: El Paso Electric Company's (El Paso, Texas) $260 million Newman East Power Station in El Paso. The 230-MW, simple-cycle power plant began construction in first-quarter 2022 and is about two miles east of the existing Newman Power Station. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report.

Although single-cycle plants have much lower average capacity when compared with combined-cycle plants, they enjoy one significant advantage, according to the EIA: They can quickly ramp up operations in response to sudden changes in demand, or when output from intermittent renewable energy sources is unavailable. That could explain why Texas accounts for more than half of the new single-cycle capacity brought online in 2022 and 2023, as the Lone Star State's power grid withstood extraordinary stress over this year's blistering summer months.

Nonetheless, a massive combined-cycle project began construction in Texas toward the beginning of the year and is expected to wrap up in mid-2025: Entergy Corporation's (NYSE:ETR) (New Orleans, Louisiana) $2 billion Orange County Advanced Power Station in Orange, which is just east of Beaumont on the Louisiana border. The plant is expected to generate more than 1.24 GW from two combustion turbines and a steam turbine, all provided by Mitsubishi Power Americas Incorporated (Lake Mary, Florida). Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's project report.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for U.S. gas-fired power-generation projects set to be completed before the end of 2025.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).