Growth in natural gas-fired generation in the U.S. is estimated to slow down this year with the rise in renewable energy, according to the country's Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday.
Power generation from natural gas-fired power plants in the electric sector is estimated to grow by 1.3% in 2020, the EIA said in a statement.
If this is realized, it would mark the slowest growth rate in natural gas generation since 2017, it added.
Generation from non-hydro renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, is expected to grow by 15% in 2020, which if realized, would mark the fastest rate in four years, the EIA said.
Electricity generation from coal-fired power plants, however, is anticipated to decrease by 13% this year, the administration added.
"During the past decade, the electric power sector has been retiring coal-fired generation plants while adding more natural gas generating capacity," the statement said.
The EIA estimates that 12.7 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired capacity in the U.S. was retired in 2019, while an additional 5.8 GW of coal capacity is scheduled to retire in 2020, which equates to a 13% decline in coal-fired generation this year.
On the other hand, the U.S.' electric sector has already added or plans to add 11.4 GW of capacity in natural gas combined-cycle power plants in 2019 and 2020.
Power generating capacity from renewable sources, especially solar and wind, has increased steadily over recent years in the U.S.
The EIA said it estimates that the U.S. power sector will add 19.3 GW of new solar capacity in 2019 and 2020, marking a 65% increase from 2018 capacity levels.
It also forecasts a 32% increase in new wind capacity, or nearly 30 GW, for installation in 2019 and 2020.
If these capacities are realized, it would bring the total in new solar and wind to 49.3 GW by the end of 2020, according to the EIA's data.
By Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr