8.6 GW of new gas power in 2023
21 December 2023As of mid October, ten new natural-gas-fired power plants had come online in the USA in 2023, totalling of 6.8 GW of installed capacity, according to the US Energy Information Administration’s Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. By the end of 2023, the EIA expected another six natural-gas-fired power plants, totalling 1.8 GW of additional generating capacity, to come online, bringing the total 2023 capacity addition to 8.6 GW. The additions include both combined cycle and simple cycle facilities concentrated near the Gulf Coast and Appalachia natural gas producing regions and in Florida. In 2022, a total of 11 natural gas-fired power plants came online, adding 5.6 GW of capacity. Total natural gas-fired capacity additions increased in both 2022 and 2023 after consecutive declines in the prior three years.
In the next two years (2024 and 2025), the EIA expects 20 new natural-gas-fired power plants to come online with a total capacity of 7.7 GW.
During 2022 and 2023, a total of 13 new CCGT plants with a combined capacity of 12.4 GW will have entered service. Approximately 5.8 GW of the total capacity is located in Florida and Michigan. These two states already produce electricity primarily from natural gas-fired power plants. EIA expects 4.9 GW of additional CCGT additions in 2024 and 2025, only 0.1 GW of which is planned for 2024.
During 2022 and 2023, 14 simple cycle plants, total installed capacity 1.9 GW, will have entered operation. Over half of the
new simple cycle capacity coming online in 2022 and 2023 is located in Texas, which has periods of high daily peak electricity demand throughout the summer and has had significant growth in renewable energy during the last few years. Additional new simple cycle units, total capacity 2.8 GW, mostly located in Texas near high population areas, are expected to enter service in 2024 and 2025. Looking at all energy sources, solar power will account for the largest capacity addition in the USA in 2023, at around 25 GW, with wind and battery storage also likely to exceed gas in terms of installed capacity added in the course of 2023.
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