Xcel Energy has become the first utility to commit to 100% clean energy. The utility’s announcement is part of a wider transformation that appears to leave conventional power plants in the dust, but according to analysts at investment research firm SSR, the prospects for building natural gas power plants are not as bleak as they might appear.
For the past several years, renewables have outpaced conventional generation. In 2017, renewables accounted for 55% of the 21 GW of new generation built in the U.S., the fourth consecutive year they comprised more than half of newly built power capacity, says the Energy Information Administration (EIA).