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Fossil fuels based power generation is constantly decreasing (US)

The United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that the total US net power generation slightly decreased in 2017 (-1.5%) due to the lower electricity demand. Renewable power generation (from hydropower, wind and solar) rose in 2017, reducing conventional thermal power generation: gas-fired power production fell by 7.7% in 2017, while coal-fired power generation dipped by 2.5%. Natural gas remained the most used fuel for the third consecutive year but gas-fired power generation fell by 105 TWh in 2017, the largest annual decline on record. This is the first year since 2008 that both coal and gas-fired power generation decreased in the same year.



More than 11 GW of power capacities retired in 2017, half of which was coal-fired (6.3 GW). Moreover, for the first year in a decade, no additional coal-fired power generators were commissioned. Meanwhile, 4 GW of gas-fired power generation capacity was retired, most of which steam turbine units. But approximately 9.3 GW of new units came on stream in 2017, of which 8.2 GW are combined cycle units, exceeding the retired capacity.



Renewable energies continued to increase and nearly 4.7 GW of utility-scale solar PV and 6.3 GW of wind turbines came on line in 2017. 3.5 GW of small-scale solar were added, bringing the total US small-scale solar capacity to 16.2 GW, surpassing the biomass installed capacity (14.2 GW). Wind power generation reached 6.3% of total net generation, while utility-scale solar made up 1.3%, their highest levels. Hydropower generation also rose to 7.5% of net generation in 2017.

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