Wind to Outpace Natural Gas as Fastest Growing Source of U.S. Electricity Generation: EIA

The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts that natural gas-fired electricity generation in the United States will increase by 6 percent in 2019 and by 2 percent in 2020, while wind power will go up by 6 percent in 2019 and by 14 percent in 2020, according to its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook.

These trends vary widely among the regions of the country; growth in natural gas generation is highest in the mid-Atlantic region and growth in wind generation is highest in Texas, which has been traditionally dominated by fossil fuels. The agency also expects coal-fired electricity generation to decline nationwide, falling by 15 percent in 2019 and by 9 percent in 2020.

According to the agency, wind power has been the fastest-growing source of electricity in recent years in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. (ERCOT) region that serves most of Texas. Since the beginning of 2018, the industry has added 3 gigawatts of wind generating capacity and plans to add another 7 gigawatts before the end of 2020. These additions would result in an increase of nearly 50 percent from the 2017 wind capacity level in ERCOT.