BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 21. The average utilization rate, also known as the capacity factor, for combined-cycle natural gas turbine (CCGT) electric power plants in the US has increased due to enhanced operating efficiency in new CCGT units, Trend reports.
According to the US Energy Information Administration Agency (EIA), the CCGT capacity factor in the US climbed from 40 percent in 2008 to 57 percent in 2022, as a result of improved efficiency making newer CCGT units more competitive against other fuel sources and older CCGT units.
As the agency noted, lower natural gas prices contribute to increased capacity factors at natural gas-fired power plants, as the electricity generated becomes more cost-effective than that from alternative sources like coal-fired plants. Notably, in 2012 and 2015, annual average capacity factors of CCGT units saw an increase of over seven percentage points during periods of declining annual Henry Hub natural gas prices.
Grid operators typically dispatch generators in order of lowest to highest cost. Given that CCGT units constructed between 2010 and 2022 generally have the lowest operating costs, they are dispatched more frequently compared to older CCGT power plants.
In 2022, the capacity factor of CCGT units that commenced operations between 2010 and 2022 averaged 64 percent, contrasting with 55 percent for those that began operations earlier.
