POWER December 2010 - 72

FUELS
The rush to renewables is evident across
all regions in the U.S. On a megawatt basis,
between 2011 and 2015, project developers
have announced plans to have renewables account
for:
■ 73% of the new generating capacity proposed
for the West Coast, up from 54% of
new capacity between 2008 and 2012.
■ 71% of the new generating capacity proposed
for the Rocky Mountain area, up
from 25% of new capacity during the
2008-2012 period.
■ 85% of the new generating capacity proposed
for the Midwest, up from 39% of
new capacity to be built between 2008 and
2012.
Power developers also have announced
plans to increase the share of renewables in
the new power generation mix between 2011
and 2015 in the Southeast, Southwest, and
New England areas.
The embrace of renewables in the U.S.
comes despite markedly higher construction
costs for renewable capacity (see table), relatively
high unemployment, weak economic
growth, and the uncertainty that comes with
mid-term elections.
Capital costs. The cost to build new electric generation capacity in the U.S. varies widely, according
to project-spending data tracked by Industrial Info Resources. The data are rank-ordered
on the basis of cost per megawatt of installed capacity. Source: Industrial Info Resources
Generation technology
Natural gas simple cycle
Natural gas combined cycle
Landfill gas
Wind
Biomass
Coal, subcritical (no carbon capture and sequestration [CCS])
Coal, circulating fluidized bed
Coal, supercritical (no CCS)
Solar, photovoltaic
Solar, concentrating solar power
Geothermal
Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC)
Coal, supercritical (with CCS)
Digester gas
IGCC with CCS
Nuclear
Beat the Clock
The calendar will determine exactly how
many of these planned renewable energy
Cost per MW ($ millions)
$0.7-1.0
$0.8-1.5
$1.5-1.8
$1.9-2.3
$2.0-4.0
$2.0-3.0
$2.1-3.0
$2.8-3.5
$3.2-6.0
$3.2-6.0
$3.4-4.5
$3.4-4.6
$4.0-5.9
$4.0-5.0
$5.2-6.5
$6.0-7.2
projects actually break ground. The Section
1603 program provided renewable power
developers with a cash grant of up to 30%
New
Release!
UDI World Electric Power Plants Database -
The Original Global Reference
Find cogen power plants in India, list new coal-fired projects in Europe,
track hydroelectric projects in Brazil, and more ...
The Platts UDI World Electric Power Plants Database (WEPP) is an inventory of over 150,000
generating units including plants of all sizes and technologies in every country in the world.
Operators include regulated utilities, private power companies, and commercial and industrial
autoproducers (captive power).
This unique database is the largest global power plant information resource available and has
been published in its current format since 1990.
To purchase the UDI World Electric Power Plants Database, visit www.WEPP.Platts.com
or call your nearest Platts office.
North America
EMEA
+1-800-PLATTS8 (toll-free)
+1-212-904-3070 (direct)
+44-(0)20-7176-6111
Latin America
+54-11-4804-1890
Asia-Pacific
+65-6530-6430
72
www.powermag.com
POWER | December 2010
For more information
about Platts UDI
databases and
directories, visit
www.udidata.com.

http://www.udidata.com http://www.WEPP.Platts.com http://www.powermag.com

POWER December 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER December 2010