US posts steady power grid growth
S. Himmelstein | August 29, 2022The latest U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) inventory of electric generators shows 15.1 GW of new utility-scale electric generating capacity came online in the U.S. during the first half of 2022.
Wind generation accounts for the largest share — 34% — of the capacity additions, followed by natural gas, solar and battery storage. More than 40% of the wind capacity installed in 2022 is located in Texas: 2.2 GW of the 5.2 GW wind total.
The largest renewable projects that came online in the first six months of 2022 include the 999 MW Traverse Wind Project in Oklahoma, the 492 MW Maverick Creek Wind Project in Texas, and the 440 MW solar and battery storage project at Slate Hybrid in California.
Operable utility-scale generating units as of June 2022. Source: EIA
Developers and project planners report plans to add 29.4 GW of new capacity in the second half of the year. Nearly half of that planned capacity is from solar (13.6 GW), followed by wind (6 GW). As in previous years, many projects plan to come online in December because of tax incentives.
U.S. operators plan to retire 15.1 GW of generating capacity during 2022; 8.8 GW have been retired in the first half of the year. Coal-fired power plants will account for 76% of the retirements this year, followed by natural gas (12%) and nuclear (9%). The largest U.S. coal power plant retirements in 2022 include the 1,305 MW William H. Zimmer plant in Ohio, which retired in May, and the 1,205 MW Morgantown Generating Station in Maryland, which retired in June. In addition, the 777 MW Palisades nuclear power facility in Michigan retired in May.
So they're retiring the reliable generating capacity, and replacing it with unreliable generating capacity...So your power costs will be higher, less reliable at a time when the economy is crashing and taxes are rising, and to make things worse you have been selected to pay for your neighbors kid's 4 year college debt, a gender studies major, who can't tell you the difference between a man and a woman....It's going to be a long cold winter....
Hopefully this new capacity in Texas can operate in the next cold snap.