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U.S. generating capacity will increase by about 75 GW this summer compared to a year ago — mainly solar, wind and batteries — while power plant retirements will slow to about 8 GW, helping to improve the outlook for grid reliability for this summer, according to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff.
“The pace of these changes is notable,” Alec Stirling, a FERC economist, said during the agency’s monthly open meeting on Thursday. “New capacity additions are accelerating to the largest year-over-year increase in gigawatts in over a decade, while the rate of plant retirements has slowed by more than 50% since last summer.”
The capacity additions include nearly 26 GW in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas footprint, close to 13 GW in the Western Electric Coordinating Council region and 11 GW in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator market, FERC said in its annual summer market and reliability assessment.
Generation additions are outpacing demand growth, leading to an improved reliability outlook compared to last summer, Suzanne Edwards, a North American Electric Reliability Corp. analyst, told the commission.
