According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, despite a growing focus on building new natural gas-fired power plants in the U.S., coal-fired plants will remain the largest source of power generation in the country through 2040, According to an expanded section of the Annual Energy Outlook 2013, coal-fired energy will provide 35 percent of power generation in 2040, which is a decrease from providing 42 percent of power generation in 2011. Over that time, the EIA states about 15 percent of coal-fired capacity active in 2011 to retire, while only 4 percent of new generation capacity added will be coal-fired. Although natural gas will provide less generation than coal, the EIA states total natural gas-fired generation will increase by an average of 1.6 percent per year from 2011 to 2040. In 2040, natural gas will provide 30 percent of power generation, an increase from 24 percent in 2011. The report projects generation from renewable resources to grow by 1.7 percent per year, with the generation rising from 13 percent of total generation in 2011 to 16 percent in 2040. Most of the additional renewable energy generation will be from non-hydropower sources, with the non-hydropower share of total renewable energy generation increasing from 38 percent in 2011 to 65 percent in 2040.
