EIA: Natural Gas-fired Power Generation to Be Near Record High This Summer

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that natural gas-fired power in the United States will account for 37% of power generation in June, July and August this year, rivalling the record set in 2016, when gas-fired power generation also was 37%. Coal-fired generation is expected to dip to 30% of the total generation, compared to 31% last summer and 33% in summer 2016.

The EIA says that power plant operators added 5.4 gigawatts (GW) of natural gas-fired power in the first four months of this year and that there is an additional 15 GW scheduled to come online by the end of the year. Industrial Info is tracking more than $100 billion in active U.S. natural gas-fired power projects. The Great Lakes region, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, leads in terms of overall project value.

Click on the image at right for a breakdown by market region of active natural gas-fired power projects in the U.S.

Among the projects to be wrapped up by the end of the year is Duke Energy Corporation's (NYSE:DUK) (Charlotte, North Carolina) 1,640-megawatt (MW) Citrus County Power Station near Crystal River, Florida. Construction began in late 2015 and is expected to wrap up in the fourth quarter of this year. Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) (Irving, Texas) is the turnkey contractor on the project, which has an estimated total investment value (TIV) of $1.5 billion. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Also on the books to be completed this year is Dominion Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:D) (Richmond, Virginia) Greensville County combined-cycle power plant in Virginia. Construction on the $1.3 billion plant began in late 2015 with Fluor providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC). The facility will have a generation capacity of 1,588 MW. The plant will use Mitsubishi combustion turbine generator blocks and Alstom heat recovery steam generators. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

In New York, Advanced Power AG (Zug, Switzerland) is underway with construction on the 1,100-MW Cricket Valley Energy Center near Dover. The plant is being built on a 193-acre brownfield site. Construction began in summer 2017 and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2020. Bechtel Corporation (San Francisco, California) is EPC contractor. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

In Ohio, Advanced Power plans to kick off construction on the 1,110-MW South Field Energy Center near Wellsville later this year. The project has an estimated TIV of $1.1 billion. The plant will use General Electric (NYSE:GE) (Boston, Massachusetts) equipment. Bechtel is providing EPC. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Also planned to kick off before the end of the year is Indeck Energy Services Incorporated's (Buffalo Grove, Illinois) combined-cycle facility in Niles, Michigan. The plant will have a generating capacity of 1,076 MW. The Industrial Company (Lenexa, Kansas) is providing EPC on the project, which has an estimated TIV of $1 billion. The project is expected to be completed in the first half of 2021. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.