(Bloomberg) —
NextEra Energy Inc., the biggest US utility and No. 1 developer of wind and solar generation, believes power plants fueled by natural gas can meet only a sliver of the unprecedented electricity demand growth forecast through the end of the decade.
Even in a best-case scenario, about 75 gigawatts of gas-fired generation could be built by the end of 2030, 16% of the 460 gigawatts needed overall, NextEra Chief Executive Officer John Ketchum said in an interview at CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston.
The costs for these gas plants have also soared in the last 18 months. If the US concentrates only on gas, they will become even more expensive, forcing up bills for consumers and business, he said.
Instead, the US will need to lean on renewables to provide the majority of that supply, about 350 gigawatts, with the rest coming from delaying the retirement of existing coal plants, he said.
“It’s all of the above: We need renewables, we need gas, we need nuclear,” said Ketchum, who wants the US to maintain Biden-era tax credits for renewables projects. “It’s all gonna come in at different times and it’s all gonna come in at different cost profiles, but let’s not just go and make decisions that force us into one technology.”
“If you take the renewable credits off the table, we become a one trick pony in this country,” he said. “We put all of our eggs in the gas-fired generation basket.”
Electricity demand growth is being supercharged by the mega data campuses for tech giants like Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Microsoft Corp., Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., and access to power has become the critical stumbling block. Worsening supply chain bottlenecks for turbines, grid equipment and labor may hamper efforts to produce enough new gigawatts.
Speaking earlier at the same conference, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright promised a complete pivot away from Biden’s energy policy and a complete emphasis on fossil fuels.
Ketchum forecasts US electricity demand will grow 55% over the next 20 years, six times faster than the 9% growth seen over the past two decades.
For more on CERAWeek read our TOPLive blog from Houston.
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