据油价网2020年8月26日休斯敦报道，美国能源信息署(EIA)周三表示，由于夏季气温升高和天然气价格下跌导致电力需求增加，7月27日美国大陆的天然气发电量达到了创历史新高的36吉瓦。
EIA估计数计算得出，同一天，所谓的天然气发电燃烧——发电厂消耗的天然气——达到了创纪录的472亿立方英尺。
在今年7月27日之前，美国此前的天然气日燃烧量最高纪录是在2019年8月6日创下的，当时发电厂消耗了总计454亿立方英尺的天然气。
EIA表示，今年7月份的7天和8月份的1天，天然气日燃烧量均超过了454亿立方英尺，原因是高温天气、天然气价格比去年夏季有所下降，以及美国各地天然气发电能力的不断增长。
天然气情报的每日价格系列显示，今年6月和7月，亨利中心的天然气基准价格平均比去年同期低了30%。
根据记录， 7月27日天然气发电量占到美国大陆总发电量的45%，煤炭以24%的份额紧随其后，核能为17%，可再生能源为12%以及其他来源为3%。
天然气储量丰富且价格相对低廉，与某些可再生能源和核能发电不同，天然气发电能力可以灵活地满足峰值需求。近几年来，天然气一直在取代或替换美国的燃煤发电。
EIA在8月早些时候曾表示，自2011年以来，美国共有103家燃煤发电厂已转变为燃气发电厂或被燃气发电厂取代。
李峻 编译自 油价网
原文如下：
U.S. Natural Gas Power Generation Hits Record
Increased electricity demand amid higher summer temperatures and lower natural gas prices sent natural gas-fired power generation in the Lower 48 states to a record 36 gigawatts (GW) on July 27, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.
The so-called natural gas power burn-—the natural gas consumed by power plants—hit a daily record of 47.2 billion cubic feet (Bcf) on the same day, the EIA has calculated, based on estimates.
Before July 27 this year, the previous daily record for natural gas power burn in the United States was set on August 6, 2019, when power plants consumed a total of 45.4 Bcf of natural gas.
This year, natural gas power burn exceeded 45.4 Bcf per day on seven days in July 2020 and one day in August, the EIA said, attributing the records to the heat wave, lower gas prices compared to the summer of 2019, and growing natural gas-fired capacity across the United States.
In June and July 2020, the Henry Hub benchmark prices averaged 30 percent lower compared to the same months of last year, Natural Gas Intelligence’s daily price series showed.
On the day of the record natural gas burn, July 27, natural gas accounted for 45 percent of all electricity generated in the Lower 48 states, followed by coal with a 24-percent share, nuclear at 17 percent, renewable energy at 12 percent, and other sources at 3 percent, the EIA has estimated.
Abundant and relatively low-priced natural gas – with natural gas power capacity flexible to meet peak demand unlike some renewable and nuclear capacities – has been displacing or replacing coal-fired power generation in the U.S. in recent years.
A total of 103 coal-fired power plants were converted to natural gas or replaced by natural gas-fired plants in the United States since 2011, the EIA said earlier this month.
