Pennsylvania State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) data show that the proposed new gas-fired plants undergoing permit review will have 8,000MW capacity, almost twice the generating capacity of 12 coal burning plants scheduled to be close by April 2012.
DEP Secretary Michael Krancer was quoted by post-gazette.com as saying that the natural gas-fired electric generation "will be huge" in Pennsylvania.
A DEP spokesman Kevin Sunday noted that more proposals are anticipated for gas-fired electricity generation.
Electric Power Generation Association executive director Doug Biden cautioned against counting on all of the proposed gas-fired facilities now in the development pipeline.
"Just because they’ve applied for a permit doesn’t mean those plants will be built," Biden noted.
"The companies get into the permitting line because it’s a time-consuming process, but, historically, only about 30 percent of what’s in those construction queues gets built.
"And unless there is a serious uptick in [coal-fired] retirements, I doubt we’ll see all of those on the current permit list."
