Natural Gas Distribution NAICS 221210

Jul 23, 2025 - Slow Build-Out of Natural Gas, Renewables Will Slow Coal’s Sunsetting

• Rising electricity demand and the high costs of building new natural gas and renewable energy capacity will likely increase the time it takes to phase out coal-fired plants, according to a Wood Mackenzie report released in July. While electricity generated by coal plants is more expensive than gas, solar, and power storage, development costs for new gas-fired capacity have doubled in recent years. Meanwhile, long-duration energy storage from solar and wind isn’t mature enough to support baseload power. Costs for solar and wind development are also rising amid tariffs, reshoring, and infrastructure project delays. Wood Mackenzie estimates coal-fired electricity generation may peak in 2030, four years later than the consulting firm’s base case forecast.
• Pipeline firm Kinder Morgan recently reported a 24% rise in second quarter profits compared to a year earlier. The company’s jump in profitability comes as pipeline operators are enjoying steady growth, driven primarily by liquified natural gas (LNG) exports, and rising demand for electricity. Kinder Morgan says its $93 billion project backlog is mostly in support of power generation. The firm pipelines transport about 40% of the country’s natural gas production.

• Producers Midstream II plans to convert its 275-mile Palo Duro Pipeline in Texas from intrastate to interstate service, aiming to transport natural gas from the Permian Basin to Midcontinent markets, according to East Daley Analytics. The project will utilize existing infrastructure, including connections to major interstate pipelines and regional networks, to address growing demand from industrial sectors like data centers, electricity generation, and petrochemical facilities. With a design capacity of 80 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d), supported by one compressor station and up to 12 meter stations, the conversion could alleviate takeaway constraints at the Permian’s Waha hub and expand downstream market access without requiring new pipeline construction.
• Solar’s share of US electricity generation is expected to grow in 2025 and 2026, according to the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Short Term Energy Outlook. For the summer of 2025, solar is projected to generate 124 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of power, up 34% compared to the June-September period in 2024. By summer 2026, the EIA expects solar capacity to expand by 34% to 147 billion kWh. The Short Term Energy Outlook forecasts natural gas generation will drop 4% in 2025 amid higher fuel prices but will rise 2% in 2026.