This introduction comes from a report from SNL by Parth Shah
New generating capacity added to the aging U.S. fleet in 2014, at 15,450 MW, was slightly more than the 15,028 MW added the year before.
New generating capacity added to the aging U.S. fleet in 2014, at 15,450 MW, was slightly more than the 15,028 MW added the year before.
Looking at 2014’s new capacity by fuel type, slightly more than half, or 7,902 MW, was gas-fired. Almost 92% of the new gas-fired capacity coming online was at combined-cycle facilities. A number of new gas plants were built as replacements to older, usually coal-fired units that were retired.
Wind accounted for the second-largest amount of capacity added, almost 3,815 MW during the year. As wind developers rushed to capitalize on the brief extension of the production tax credit, the month of December saw almost one-third of all of 2014’s wind capacity additions. According to the American Wind Energy Association, the levelized cost of energy from wind sources has declined 58% over the past five years, and this plus increasing capacity factors have been the most significant factors driving increased wind installations.
New solar capacity in 2014 totaled 3,240 MW. Solar installations also benefited from decreasing system costs in 2014. According to data from the Solar Energy Industries Association, the national weighted-average system cost for residential and utility-scale solar facilities declined nearly 4%.
For the full report: http://goo.gl/NLgv3M
SNL
www.snl.com
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