• One important question about the rapid shift to gas is whether enough new natural gas generating capacity can be brought on line in time to comply with the Protocol. This is important because the amount of new capacity needed each year will far exceed the roughly 10 gigawatts per year that have been added over the last 10 to 15 years.

• In the most stringent carbon-reduction case, an average of 21 gigawatts--primarily new gas plants--are needed each year between 2000 and 2020.

• While this level of additions is high, it is not historically unprecedented. Between 1965 and 1985, annual capacity additions averaged 24 gigawatts, with the peak in 1974, when 41 gigawatts were added. In the most stringent carbon-reduction case, the largest amount of capacity added in a single year is only 28 gigawatts.

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