The U.S. Energy Information Administration has nearly tripled its tracked growth in gas-fired power generation through 2030, lifting the figure from 23 MW to 66 MW as data centers strain the grid and the Trump administration pulls back green-energy support. Even so, the EIA expects natural gas to hold a steady 40% share of the power market in 2027.
The EIA now tracks 66 megawatts (MW) of growth in gas-fired power generation through 2030 in its June 25 Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. That is nearly three times the 23-MW growth the agency forecasted in its 2025 inventory.
The figures reflect industry plans, not agency modeling. According to an EIA spokesperson, the numbers come "from the plans that owners and operators of generators report to us" rather than an analyst projection.
Data centers and policy drive the shift
Two forces sit behind the jump. Rising electricity demand from data centers and federal pullbacks on clean energy have pushed developers back toward gas. Industrial Info Resources is tracking 144 gas-fired projects planned for completion by 2030, worth nearly $136 billion.
Since taking office in January 2025, the Trump administration has cancelled or denied about $34 billion in clean energy subsidies, according to Britt Burt of Industrial Info Resources. That total covers roughly 10 gigawatts (GW) of solar, 3.75 GW of wind and 9 GW of battery storage. Much of the funding was pulled in the administration’s 2026 budget announcement, and Burt said the administration has paid $2.7 billion to developers to halt offshore wind projects.
Gas holds its share as demand climbs
More output does not translate into a larger slice of the market. The EIA expects the natural gas share to hold steady at 40% in 2027, after 42% in 2024 and 40% across 2025 and 2026. Coal, meanwhile, is set to slip to 15% in both 2026 and 2027, while solar climbs from 5% in 2024 to 9% in 2027.
Demand supports the buildout. The EIA estimates U.S. power demand will rise 1.8% year-over-year in 2026 and about 3% in 2027. That is expected to push power-sector gas consumption to a record in 2027, driven largely by rising electricity demand, the expanding gas fleet and relatively low gas prices.
Texas and Louisiana lead the map
Geography concentrates the growth. Over 2021-2025, Texas led with an average of almost 674,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) added, ahead of Ohio at 479,000 MWh. In Louisiana, Meta has agreed to pay utility Entergy to build gas-fired plants for its Hyperion data center in Richland Parish.
Those projects sit atop the gas-rich Haynesville Shale, the second-most prolific U.S. gas producer after Appalachia’s Marcellus/Utica plays. The field straddles the Texas-Louisiana state line, and Industrial Info Resources is tracking three related projects worth $2.81 billion with 1.8 GW of capacity for Meta’s natural gas-powered data center buildout.
Source: Industrial Info Resources
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