Bulk chemical feedstock use a key part of increasing industrial energy demand

Industrial sector energy consumption is expected to grow faster than all other sectors, according to EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2015. A large portion of both consumption and anticipated growth is in the bulk chemical industry, which is able to take advantage of increased domestic supply of natural gas, hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL), and petrochemical feedstocks. More »

Renewable share of U.S. energy consumption highest since 1930s

Renewable energy accounted for 9.8% of total domestic energy consumption in 2014. This marks the highest renewable energy share since the 1930s, when wood was a much larger contributor to domestic energy supply More »

Under the proposed Clean Power Plan, natural gas, then renewables, gain generation share

EIA's recently released analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed Clean Power Plan rule shows it would result in major changes in the fuel mix used to generate electricity in the United States. More »

Under Clean Power Plan, power sector CO2 emissions fall to lowest levels since 1980s

In June 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing power plants under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. EIA's newly released analysis of the proposed rule shows power sector CO2 emissions falling to about 1,500 million metric tons per year by 2025, a level not seen since the early 1980s, in the Base Policy case. More »

U.S. retail gasoline prices lowest since 2009 heading into Memorial Day weekend

On May 18, the U.S. average retail price for gasoline was $2.74 per gallon ($/gal), or 92¢ per gallon (¢/gal) lower than at the same time last year. This is the lowest average price heading into the Memorial Day weekend—the traditional start of the summer driving season—since 2009. More »

Net imports of natural gas fall to lowest level since 1987

U.S. net imports of natural gas decreased 9% in 2014, continuing an eight-year decline. As U.S. dry natural gas production has reached record highs, lower domestic prices have helped to displace natural gas imports. Net natural gas imports totaled 1,171 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 2014, the lowest since 1987. More »

Low crude oil prices, increased gasoline demand lead to high refiner margins

Gasoline crack spreads in the United States, especially on the U.S. East Coast, have reached several-year highs in recent months. Crack spreads, which reflect the difference between wholesale product prices and crude oil prices, are a good indicator of refiner profitability. More »

EIA launches redesigned International Energy Portal

On May 18, EIA launched a beta version of a redesigned International Energy Portal designed to help users access international energy data and to provide new and expanded tools and capabilities to examine trends in global energy markets. More »

Nonpetroleum share of transportation energy at highest level since 1954

In the United States, petroleum is by far the most-consumed transportation fuel. But recently the share of fuels other than petroleum for U.S. transportation has increased to its highest level since 1954, a time when the use of coal-fired steam locomotives was declining and automobile use was growing rapidly. More »

U.S. power sector CO2 emissions expected to increase through 2040

Although U.S. carbon dioxide emissions associated with electricity generation have fallen from the 2005 level, they are projected to increase in the coming decades, based on analysis in EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2015 that reflects current laws and regulations, and therefore does not include proposed rules such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan. More »

Power generation from coal and natural gas expected to temporarily converge this spring

EIA's most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook forecasts that the amount of electricity generation fueled by natural gas in April and May will total just 3% less than the projected amount of coal-fired generation. This convergence has occurred only once before, in April 2012, when natural gas fueled just 1.5% less generation than coal. More »

Corn ethanol yields continue to improve

In 2014, U.S. fuel ethanol production reached 14.3 billion gallons of ethanol fuel, the highest level ever. The growth in U.S. fuel ethanol production has outpaced growth in corn consumed as feedstock—as the industry has grown, it has become more efficient, using fewer bushels of corn to produce a gallon of ethanol. More »

New supply patterns and additional disruptions push California gasoline prices higher

Supply disruptions in the tightly balanced and relatively isolated California gasoline market have increased wholesale and retail gasoline prices over the past several weeks. This comes after markets had adjusted to compensate for lost production following the February explosion and fire at ExxonMobil's refinery in Torrance, California. Average retail prices for regular gasoline in California as a whole, and in Los Angeles specifically, have increased by 57¢/gal and 63¢/gal in the past three weeks. More »

Projected electric capacity additions are below recent historical levels

In the coming decades, additions to U.S. electricity generation capacity are expected to be lower than in the recent past. In EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2015 Reference case, which reflects current laws and policies and does not include EIA's proposed Clean Power Plan, total generating capacity (including end-use generators like rooftop solar panels) increases from 1,065 gigawatts (GW) in 2013 to 1,261 GW in 2040. More »

Average size of new commercial buildings in United States continues to grow

Increases in the size of commercial buildings have outpaced increases in the number of those buildings over the past decade, according to EIA's Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey. The survey is the only nationally representative data collection for building characteristics and energy use in commercial buildings. More »

Implications of higher domestic crude production for U.S. refining

In response to multiple requests over the past years, EIA is developing a series of analyses that address the implications of current limitations on crude oil exports for prices, including both world and domestic crude oil and petroleum product prices, and for the level of domestic crude oil production and refining activity. More »

EIA’s CBECS is the nation's only comprehensive survey of commercial buildings

EIA's Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey is the only nationally representative source of statistical information on energy-related characteristics, consumption, and expenditures for the nation's 5.6 million commercial buildings. Building characteristics information from the 2012 survey is being released in stages through the spring, and consumption and expenditures data will follow later in the year. More »

Crude by rail accounts for more than half of East Coast refinery supply in February

Monthly rail receipts of crude oil accounted for more than half (52%) of the crude oil supply to East Coast refineries in February. As U.S. and Canadian production of crude oil has increased, crude supply by rail to East Coast (PADD 1) refineries has grown, displacing waterborne imports of crude oil from countries other than Canada, such as Nigeria More »

Natural gas, renewables projected to provide larger shares of electricity generation

EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2015 (AEO2015) Reference case projects that electricity consumption will increase at an average annual rate of 0.8% from 2013 to 2040, nearly in line with expected population growth. Continuing a recent trend toward lower levels of carbon-intensive generation, natural gas and renewable generation meet almost all of the increase. More »

Alaska residents are paid a unique yearly dividend from state's permanent fund

The Alaska Permanent Fund, established using revenues paid to the state by oil and gas producers, provides Alaska residents with an annual cash dividend, which is unique among natural resource permanent funds in the United States. In 2014, the annual dividend was $1,884 per resident, more than double the 2013 dividend and the highest since 2008. More »