January 8, 2003—A new survey by Energy Argus Inc., a global news and analysis resource for the energy industry, says that more than 54,000 megawatts of new US power generation were completed in 2002—a record year for construction despite the ongoing financial problems at many energy companies.
Nearly all of the new plants are fueled by natural gas, which is capturing a growing share of the electric generation fleet.
While electricity demand in 2002 rose 2.8 percent, faster than expected, the growth in new supply was closer to 7 percent. That has led power prices in many regions to drop and power producers and trading firms to struggle.
The estimate is based on information published by Energy Argus in its monthly New Power Plant Projects, a database of plants under development in North America.
