Gas-Fired Generation Poised to jump in Pennsylvania as Nuclear Shutdown Looms

摘要

When Exelon shuts down Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in central Pennsylvania on Sep.30,the loss of the single unit 980 megawatt plant will hardly be missed.There is simply too much available natural gas capacity in the heart of the Marcellus Shale to cover the loss of 1.9% of Pennsylvania nameplate generation capacity-and even more gas-fired capacity is on the way. In addition to Three Mile Island Unit 1,two coal plants with a combined nameplate capacity of 1,845 MW have retired so far in 2019 in Pennsylvania,according to a recent report from the Energy Information Administration(EIA).”As retirements of coal and nuclear plants continue,natural gas-fired generation will continue to have a leading role in Pennsylvania's electric generation mix." These nuclear and coal closures alone could produce nearly 0.5 billion cubic feet per day in gas demand in a region with scant renewable power capacity.