Natural gas surpasses coal as biggest US electricity source

Associated Press ^ | Jul 13, 2015 12:56 PM EDT | Tom Murphy

[Olog-hai]

Natural gas overtook coal as the top source of U.S. electric power generation for the first time ever earlier this spring, a milestone that has been in the making for years as the price of gas slides and new regulations make coal more risky for power generators.

About 31 percent of electric power generation in April came from natural gas, and 30 percent from coal, according to a recently released report from the research company SNL Energy, which used data from the U.S. Energy Department. Nuclear power came in third at 20 percent.

A drilling boom that started in 2008 has boosted U.S. natural gas production by 30 percent and made the United States the world’s biggest combined producer of oil and natural gas. Hydraulic fracturing has allowed energy companies to tap huge volumes of gas trapped deep underground in shale formations.

That has driven the price of natural gas sharply lower to levels about a third of what they were just 10 years ago. …

[bananaman22]

I think the report of SNL energy is incorrect.
The EIA’s numbers, citing the most recent data indicate that coal remains the biggest...
http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/sec7_5.pdf

[Steely Tom]

They could just as accurately have said "Fracking Tech Now Source Of Lions Share Of US Electricity Supply" but of course that'll never happen.

[Olog-hai]

That won’t stop AP from printing propaganda.

[thackney]

You are looking at the previous report. The data out for April 2015 shows:

457,305 Thousand Megawatthours = coal

92,516 Thousand Megawatthours = natural gas

http://eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.cfm?t=epmt_1_01

Graphed at:
http://eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/topic/0?agg=2,0,1&fuel=vvg&geo=g&sec=g&linechart=ELEC.GEN.ALL-US-99.M~ELEC.GEN.COW-US-99.M~ELEC.GEN.NG-US-99.M~ELEC.GEN.NUC-US-99.M~ELEC.GEN.HYC-US-99.M&columnchart=ELEC.GEN.ALL-US-99.M~ELEC.GEN.COW-US-99.M~ELEC.GEN.NG-US-99.M~ELEC.GEN.NUC-US-99.M~ELEC.GEN.HYC-US-99.M&map=ELEC.GEN.ALL-US-99.M&freq=M&start=200101&end=201504&ctype=linechart&ltype=pin&rtype=s&maptype=0&rse=0&pin=

[telstar12.5]

Still, it’s going to be a bitch when, in the future nat. gas goes into short supply (like in the winter).

[thackney]

Sorry, grabbed the wrong field make that:

88,835 coal

92,516 nat gas

[thackney]

We use significantly less electricity as a nation in colder months.

http://eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/topic/5?agg=0,1&geo=vvvvvvvvvvvvo&endsec=vg&freq=M&start=200101&end=201402&ctype=linechart&ltype=pin&pin=&rse=0&maptype=0

[lowbridge]

“and new regulations make coal more risky for power generators.”

So tell us, coal miners, enjoying your support of obama in 2008 now?

[bananaman22]

you convinced me ;-)

[American Constitutionalist]

Gots to keep them air-conditioning people happy in the summer months.

But one would have thought that the days are longer in the summer therefore less lights.

[thackney]

Lights don’t come close to the demand caused by air conditioning. Not even when you throw in Friday Night lights.

[clearcarbon]

The percentage of coal generated electricity could have been reduced by building new plants powered by alternative energy sources. There was no need to shut down existing plants unless they became to expensive to operate even without government interference.