For the first time ever, in 2016 natural gas generated power in the U.S. exceeded coal generation as reported at energyfactor.exxonmobil.com.
The Stonewall power plant in Loudoun County, Virginia, represents another step in the power industry’s march towards natural gas and away from coal – a transition that has reshaped how Americans get electricity.
The 778 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant on the outskirts of Washington D.C. is scheduled to go live in 2017 and is expected to generate electricity for nearly 780,000 homes. The facility is owned by Panda Power Funds, a Dallas, Texas-based energy investor.
Stonewall is just one of a number of natural gas-fired power plants slated to go live next year. The Energy Information Agency is predicting that 2016 will be the first year that natural gas-fired generation exceeds coal generation in the United States on an annual basis when roughly 34 percent of electric power generation is expected to come from natural gas, and 30 percent from coal.
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