FERC: US adds 197 MW of biomass capacity in 2016

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Office of Energy Projects has released its Energy Infrastructure Update with data for the full year 2016, reporting the U.S. added 197 MW of biomass capacity last year.

According to the report, the U.S. added two biomass units in December, with a combined capacity of 102 MW. For the full year, the report shows 51 biomass units with a combined 197 MW of capacity were placed into service. During the previous year 39 biomass units with a combined 323 MW of capacity were placed into service.

Within the report, the FERC highlights a bioenergy project in California that was brought online in December. According to the commission, Los Angeles County Department of Public Works placed its 27 MW biofuel-fired Hyperion cogeneration project in Los Angeles County online in late 2016.

Overall, the U.S. added 696 new electrical generation units with a combined capacity of 26,209 MW in 2106. In addition to the biomass units, these installations included three coal units with a combined capacity of 45 MW, 102 natural gas units with a combined capacity of 8,689 MW, one nuclear unit with a capacity of 1,270 MW, seven oil units with a combined capacity of 58 MW, 30 water units with a combined 314 MW of capacity, 77 wind units with a combined 7,865 MW of capacity, 407 solar units with a combined 7,748 MW of capacity, two waste heat units with a combined 23 MW of capacity, and 16 units classified as “other” with a combined capacity of less than 1 MW.

As of the close of 2016, the FERC reports the U.S. had a 16.78 GW of installed biomass capacity, accounting for 1.42 percent of U.S. capacity. Coal currently accounts for 24.65 percent of capacity, with natural gas at 43.23 percent, nuclear at 9 percent, oil at 3.79 percent, water at 8.5 percent, wind at 6.92 percent, geothermal steam at 0.33 percent, solar at 2 percent, waste heat at 10 percent and other forms of capacity at 0.06 percent.