據3月31日Kallanish Energy報道，根據美國能源部(U.S. Department of Energy)及其能源信息署(Energy Information Administration)的數據，2020年美國天然氣發電量同比增長12%。

聯邦政府機構在其每小時電網監測報告中稱，截至3月18日，以天然氣為燃料的發電廠累計發電301100億瓦時，這還不包括2020年的閏日。

盡于冬季氣候較為溫和，電力需求下降，總發電量下降了5%，但發電量仍在增長。這一增長主要是由于天然氣價格較低以及2019年出現的產能增加。

EIA稱，天然氣現貨價格已從11月7日的2.87美元/百萬英熱降至2020年的平均1.94美元/百萬英熱。

報告指出，2020年第一季度，低價格環境一直存在，這使得天然氣成為了更具競爭力的燃料。隨著天然氣發電量的增加，與2019年同期相比，2020年燃煤發電量平均每天減少965億瓦時。從煤炭到天然氣的轉變在美國中西部和墨西哥灣沿岸最為明顯。

去年，美國新增了6674兆瓦的聯合循環發電能力。預計這一增長將繼續下去，到2020年，計劃再新增5840兆瓦的聯合循環發電能力。

洪偉立 摘譯自 Kallanish Energy

原文如下：

US gas-fired electricity up by 12% this year: EIA

Natural gas-generated electricity in the United States has grown by 12% year-on-year in 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Energy and its Energy Information Administration.

Through March 18, natgas-fired power plants generated a cumulative 301,100 gigawatthours (GWh) of electricity — this excludes the additional leap day in 2020, the federal agency said in its Hourly Electric Grid Monitor report.

The growth in generation occurred despite a 5% decline in total powergen due to a milder winter and lower demand for electric heating, Kallanish Energy reports. The increase was due largely by low natural gas prices and capacity additions that occurred in 2019.

Natural gas spot price has fallen from $2.87 per million British thermal units on Nov. 7 to an average of $1.94/MMBtu so far in 2020, the EIA said.

The low-price environment has persisted for the first three months of 2020 and has made natural gas a more competitive fuel, it added.

Last year, the U.S. added a net 6,674 MW of new combined-cycle capacity. The growth is expected to continue with another net 5,840 MW of combined-cycle capacity planned in 2020.

As natural gas-fired generation increased, coal-fired generation declined by an average of 965 GWh per day in 2020, compared to the same time period in 2019.

The switching from coal to gas has been most obvious in the U.S. Midwest and the Gulf Coast.