Watch the history of natural gas power plants in the United States

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The first power plants fueled by natural gas came online in the 1920s, but it wasn’t until after World War II that natural gas gained a significant market share in the electricity generation sector. By then large discoveries coupled with advances in pipeline technology made long-distance transmission feasible. More than 7800 electric generating units powered by natural gas have been built in the United States. More than half of those have been built since 2000.

The share of electricity generated In the United States by natural gas increased from 16% in 2000 to 38% in 2021. The big shift to natural gas was driven by an increase in domestic supply from fracking, its cost advantage over coal, the need for lower emissions of air pollutants, the high efficiency of new gas plants, and the desire by many utilities to move away from coal.

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