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EIA Estimates Record U.S. Electric Generating Capacity Additions in 2026, with Solar in the Lead

LCG, February 20, 2026--The EIA today issued an "in-brief analysis" that estimates U.S. power plant developers and operators plan to complete a record installation of 86 GW of new, utility-scale electric generating capacity that is connected to the U.S. power grid in 2026. Last year, 53 GW of new capacity was added to the grid, which was the largest capacity installation in a single year since 2002. Thus the estimate of 86 GW of new capacity in 2026 is a whopping 33 GW greater than the year prior. It should be noted that over 20 GW of the 86 GW of new capacity this year is estimated to be completed in December.

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Enhanced Geothermal Systems May Drive Significant Growth in Geothermal Power Generation

LCG, February 19, 2026--The EIA released an "in-brief analysis" today regarding the expected completion of the first, large-scale commercial enhanced geothermal system (EGS) in June 2026, and the significant growth potential for year-round, 24x7, carbon-free, renewable EGS power generation in the United States.

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Industry News

AEP Cuts Back Speculative Trading

LCG, Oct. 11, 2002--Liquidity in energy trading is likely to decline further, following the announcement yesterday by American Electric Power Co. (AEP) that it will significantly reduce the resources it had devoted to speculative trading.

A top trader at AEP, Rick Snowdon, departed from the company in May along with others who worked with him, citing personal reasons for leaving. This had led some at other firms to infer that AEP had incurred losses on its trading operations. The company applied to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas in September to mothball older coal-fired generators which had served the Texas market, a market which has more than adequate supplies of power.

A significant amount of AEP's coal-fired generation will continue to supply the Midwest with inexpensive power. AEP's overall generation portfolio totals 42,000 megawatts. The company's earnings estimates for the current year have been cut by 11 percent, AEP chairman, chief executive and president Linn Draper said Thursday. Draper stated that the company "is painfully aware that the current market conditions won't reward the scope and scale of our trading and marketing business that we built over the last several years.

A trader quoted by Reuters said, "These things make trading conditions that much more difficult. They are causing everybody to be that much more conservative in who they trade with and make it more costly to trade." Much of speculative trading involves contracts based on estimates of the future price of power.
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