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Natural gas is tied with nuclear as
the #2 source of U.S.
electricity, providing 800 TWh electricity
per year (20% of U.S. electrical
energy). Natural gas supply is very tight,
which makes prices volatile (and increasing). Natural gas is much
cleaner than coal, and produces half the carbon dioxide
emissions per BTU. Combined cycle plants are the most
efficient (40-45%) and will be analyzed here. Natural Gas direct costs: $61/MWh Natural Gas indirect costs: $40/MWh Natural Gas true price: $101/MWh (2050 prediction: +$30/MWh) |
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| Solar |
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| Policy! |
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| Direct
Costs |
Indirect
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| Capital Construction Costs Natural gas combined cycle power plants have run about $400-800/kWe in the past decade (1), but as with coal plants, prices have been escalating. A typical 600 MW combined cycle natural gas power plant might cost $800 million to construct (2), contributing to energy costs of $8/MWh. Operating Costs Fuel costs over the past 10 years have averaged about 50% higher than predicted, at about $6/1000 cu.ft. (3), resulting in fuel operating costs of $49/MWh,(3), while operating and maintenance costs are about $4/MWh. (2,4) |
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(1) Energy Information Administration "Projected Costs of Electricity Generation" (eia.gov).
(2) Northwest Power Planning Council "Natural Gas Combined-cycle Gas Turbine Power Plants" (westgov.org)
(3) Energy Information Administration (eia.gov).
(4) DOE Overview of "Natural Gas Combined Cycle Power Plant" (doe.gov).