26 May 2020 | 21:02 UTC — Houston
US coal-fired power generation totals 50.6 TWh in March, lowest level in nine years: EIA
By Olivia Kalb
Highlights
Coal generation share of 16.5%, lowest in nine years
Natural gas generation share of 40.3% in March
Houston — US coal-fired power generation totaled 50.6 TWh in March, down 9.8% from February, US Energy Information Administration data showed Tuesday.
Monthly coal generation fell to its smallest level in nine years according to S&P Global Platts available data.
Year on year, generation declined 35.5%. From the five-year average of about 85.8 TWh in March, generation was at a 41.1% deficit this year.
Out of total power generation, coal took a 16.5% share, down 2.2 percentage points from February's share. It was the lowest generation share in nine years, according to Platts available data.
Coal capacity averaged 30.9% in March, down from 36.4% in February and down from 45.2% year on year. Additionally, the lowest capacity factor since S&P Global Platts data began in 2013. , down from 46% in the month before and down from 55% in the year-ago month.
Natural gas contributed over nearly 124 TWh in March, down 1.9% the month before and up 9.8% from the year-ago month.
Gas also took a 40.3% share of power generation, up slightly from 39.8% in February. From the five-year average of over 103 TWh in March, gas was up 19.8%. The capacity factor for gas plants was 52.1% in March, compared with 58.8% in February and 52.4% from the year-ago month.
Total renewable generation, including hydro, was 64.4 TWh, down 2% from February and up 0.8% from the year-ago month.
Renewables produced 13.8% of total generation in March, up from 12.8% in February.
Hydro produced 22.3 TWh in March, down 11.2% month on month and down 12.3% from the year-ago month. Utility solar produced 6.3 TWh, up 11.7% from the previous month and up 4.9% from the year-ago month. Wind produced 29.5 TWh, up 0.8% from February and up 13.2% from the year-ago month.
While hydro took 7.3% of generation, solar made up 2.1% and wind made 9.6%.
Capacity factors for renewables in March were 37.8% for wind, down from 40.3% month on month, 21.9% for solar, up from 21.9%, and 37.5% for hydro, down from 45.2%.