Natural gas will supply just 16 percent of new power plants this year
Almost All New US Power Plants Built in 2021 Will Be Carbon-Free
Federal data reveals that natural gas will supply just 16 percent of new power plants this year as cheap wind and solar power take over the market.
Julian Spector January 14, 2021 greentechmedia.com
Wind and solar make up a small share of U.S. electricity production today, but they're poised to supply 70 percent of new power plant capacity built this year.
That's not according to pro-solar activists or industry trade groups. It's the calculation of the federal government.
Solar will deliver the most new capacity, with 39 percent, according to the latest tally by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Wind follows close behind with 31 percent. The long-awaited Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia could finally wrap up one of its reactors this year, contributing another 3 percent. And battery storage will grow to 11 percent of new capacity, with a carbon impact determined by the cleanliness of the electricity that charges them.
Natural gas, the dominant fuel source for U.S. electricity, is only expected to account for 16 percent of new power plant capacity. Almost all of those gas generators are popping up in Texas, Ohio or Pennsylvania, the EIA noted.
This tabulation spans competitive markets and states where monopoly utilities call the shots. Notably, it only counts utility-scale projects, so solar and batteries at homes and businesses will yield an even bigger clean energy tally. In any case, the numbers indicate that the power industry has not simply accepted wind and solar power, but embraced them to such an extent that they dominate new construction. Of the new plants built this year, 84 percent will deliver electricity without burning fossil fuels.
That's a remarkable shift from the market landscape just a few years ago and reflects continued cost declines as the industry scales up and renewable supply chains mature. The numbers arrive as the incoming Biden administration is contemplating major legislation to stimulate the economy and grapple with planet-warming emissions at the same time.
In the past, when wind and solar were more expensive, opponents of clean energy investment framed it as a threat to the economy. President Donald Trump made that case when he pulled out of the Paris climate agreement, which he alleged would impose "draconian financial and economic burdens."
But clean energy looks less threatening to industry when power companies themselves overwhelmingly choose it to meet their needs. In recent years, nearly all major publicly traded utility companies have pledged to zero out their carbon emissions by mid-century. That's not as aggressive a timeline as president-elect Joe Biden's proposed deadline of 2035 for a zero-carbon power system, but it's aligned on the desired end state.
The 2021 outlook isn't all good for carbon-free power sources, however.
Nuclear plants, which produce emissions-free power all day and night, will lead the chart for power plants shutting down this year. New York's Indian Point Unit 3 will close, reducing capacity for the crucial New York City region. The Exelon Corporation is shutting down its Byron and Dresden plants in Illinois. Those three plants add up to 5.1 gigawatts, roughly 5 percent of the nation's nuclear fleet.
Some 56 percent of the retiring power capacity this year will be nuclear, while coal plants account for 30 percent.
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Lightsource BP starts operating massive solar project in North Texas
Paul Takahashi Jan. 14, 2021 houstonchronicle.com
Lightsource BP, a global solar company in which oil major BP has a 50 percent stake, has begun commercial operation of its largest solar project located in North Texas.
The 260-megawatt Impact Solar project, on 1,500 acres in Lamar County northwest of Dallas, will power more than 41,000 homes in North Texas. The $250 million solar project is part of BP’s long-term plans to become a low-carbon energy leader and a net-zero carbon emissions company by 2050.
“The Impact Solar project in Texas is one of the many ways we are turning our net zero ambition into action,” Orlando Alvarez, BP’s senior vice president of gas and power trading in the Americas, said in a statement. “This is a great example of how we are increasing our low carbon investment while leveraging BP’s expertise in the energy markets by trading the electricity generated from the project.”
BP in recent months has moved aggressively to prepare for the energy transition, shifting spending away from its traditional oil and gas businesses to renewable energy projects. The company plans to increase its annual investments in wind and solar projects by 10-fold to around $5 billion a year, and over time, reducine its oil and gas production.The company over the past year has sold its petrochemicals business, acquired an Indiana wind farm and partnered with Norway based Equinor to develop four offshore wind projects off the coast of New York and Massachusetts. BP last summer also donated $2 million to the city of Houston and will serve as a strategic partner to help the city government become a net-zero carbon emitter by 2050.
BP became a minority investor in Lightsource in 2017 and expanded its investment two years later to become a 50-50 owner of the solar company. Lightsource BP now operates in 14 countries, but sees the U.S. as one of its major growth markets.
Lightsource BP inked more than $1 billion of solar projects in the U.S. last year, and is planning to invest another $1 billion this year, said Kevin Smith, Lightsource BP’s CEO in the Americas. In addition to Impact Solar, Lightsource BP plans two additional solar projects in Texas over the coming years. The company has 8 gigawatts of large-scale solar projects under development in 20 states nationally.
At the peak of construction, Impact Solar employed 320 workers, more than 80 percent of which were local hires. The solar farm, which has more than 650,000 solar panels, will employ about five to six workers for long-term operations and maintenance.
Texas is an attractive market for solar companies because of its abundant and affordable land, flat topography, sunny climate, robust transmission system and deregulated electricity grid, which makes it easier for solar companies to do business in the state, Smith said.
“Texas has been a very strong market for us,” Smith said. “Obviously, there are lots of sunny areas in California, Arizona and Nevada, but I think Texas has the attributes certainly to move into the top few states in the U.S., and potentially have the most solar in the U.S.”
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