Southwest Power Pool (SPP)
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Projected Change in Electricity Generation from 1996 for Full Competition Cases |
| 1996-2005 | 1996-2015 |
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- Electricity sales are projected to grow between 1.6 and 2.0 percent per year from 1996 through 2015.
- Coal is the main fuel for the increased generation in 2005. Almost 3 gigawatts of new coal-fired capacity is built, and capacity utilization increases from 70 percent in 1996 to 81 percent in 2005. By 2015, new coal-fired capacity reaches 5 gigawatts.
- Between 2005 and 2015, natural gas-fired generation increases significantly. By 2015, 17 to 21 gigawatts of new gas-fired combined-cycle units are built to meet the varying levels of electricity demand in the two competitive cases.
- With the renewable portfolio standard in the low fossil case, generation of electricity from renewable sources is over 3 times the 1996 levels. The growth comes from biomass and wind and reduces the need for increased coal and gas-fired generation.
- In 2015, natural gas consumption is 0.1 to 0.3 quadrillion Btu above 1996 levels, and coal consumption is by 0.4 to 0.5 quadrillion Btu higher than in 1996.
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