Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auction prices are the lowest since 2014

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) will hold its 36th auction for carbon dioxide (CO2) emission allowances on June 7. In the previous auction, held in March, more than 14 million allowances were sold at a clearing price of $3.00 per short ton of CO2, the lowest price in more than three years. More »

The 2017 EIA Energy Conference is June 26 and June 27

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is hosting its 2017 Energy Conference on Monday, June 26, and Tuesday, June 27, in Washington, DC. This two-day event provides an opportunity to meet and network with energy analysts, decision makers, and EIA staff. More »

Gasoline prices ahead of Memorial Day are higher than 2016, but second lowest since 2009

Gasoline prices heading into Memorial Day weekend average $2.40 per gallon (gal) nationally, up from last year's price of $2.30/gal. Despite the year-over-year increase, 2017 marks the second-lowest price ahead of the Memorial Day weekend since 2009, when the national average price of retail regular gasoline was $2.31/gal. More »

Energy storage and renewables beyond wind, hydro, solar make up 4% of U.S. power capacity

Beyond the main sources of electricity generation capacity in the United States that have recently been discussed in a series of Today in Energy articles, additional amounts of utility-scale capacity are provided by technologies such as hydroelectric pumped storage, batteries, flywheels, and renewable fuels other than hydro, wind, and solar. More »

Crossover utility vehicles blur distinction between passenger cars and light trucks

Light-duty vehicles are generally classified into two groups: passenger cars and light trucks. However, crossover utility vehicles (CUVs)—which appear similar to sport utility vehicles but share design attributes with passenger cars—are blurring the distinction between the two classifications. More »

Fuel economy improvements are projected to reduce future gasoline use

Anticipated changes in energy consumption by light-duty vehicles in the United States are based on two factors: the amount of travel and the fuel economy of the vehicles used. The Annual Energy Outlook 2017 (AEO2017) Reference case projects a decline in light-duty vehicle energy use between 2018 and 2040 as improvements in fuel economy more than offset increases in light-duty vehicle miles. More »

Air conditioning and other appliances increase residential electricity use in the summer

Residential electricity consumption rises and falls seasonally substantially more than commercial or industrial consumption, largely because of air conditioning use in the summer. According to the most recent data from EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), nearly 9 out of 10 U.S. homes are air conditioned by central units, individual (window, wall, or portable) units, or both. More »

OPEC net oil revenues in 2016 were the lowest since 2004

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) earned about $433 billion in net oil export revenues in 2016, the lowest since 2004. In real dollar terms, the 2016 revenue represents a 15% decline from the $509 billion earned in 2015, mainly because of the fall in average annual crude oil prices and, to a lesser extent, because of decreases in OPEC net oil exports. More »

Large commercial buildings are more likely to use lighting control strategies

The most recent Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) collected new information about lighting control technologies and strategies in the United States in 2012. More »

California electricity mix in 2017 has involved more renewables, less natural gas

So far in 2017, increased hydroelectric generation and solar power generation in California have contributed to lower natural gas-fired power generation in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) region, the electric system operator for much of the state. More »

Oil-fired power plants provide small amounts of U.S. electricity capacity and generation

Roughly 70% of petroleum-fired electric generating capacity that still exists today was constructed prior to 1980. Utility-scale generators that reported petroleum as their primary fuel comprised only 3% of total electric generating capacity at the end of 2016 and produced less than 1% of total electricity generation during 2016. More »

Petroleum product exports from Central Atlantic states were unusually high in February

Exports of finished petroleum products from the Central Atlantic region of the United States (Petroleum Administration of Defense District, or PADD 1B) reached a record high in February 2017. Increased exports were driven by lower prices for several petroleum products in the Central Atlantic region compared with prices in other regions in the Atlantic Basin. More »

U.S. nuclear capacity and generation expected to decline as existing generators retire

The generation fuel mix of electricity in the Northeast Census division of the United States shifted dramatically over the past ten years. In the nine Northeast states, natural gas nearly doubled its share of the region’s total generation to 41% in 2016, up from 23% in 2006. More »

Natural gas has displaced coal in the Northeast’s generation mix over the past 10 years

The generation fuel mix of electricity in the Northeast Census division of the United States shifted dramatically over the past ten years. In the nine Northeast states, natural gas nearly doubled its share of the region's total generation to 41% in 2016, up from 23% in 2006. More »

Flows of gasoline and diesel into the Midwest fall as demand flattens and production grows

Over the past 10 years, increased refining activity and relatively flat demand in the Midwest—Petroleum Administration for Defense District 2 (PADD 2)—have allowed refiners in the region to meet a larger share of regional gasoline and diesel fuel needs. More »

New pipeline infrastructure should accommodate expected rise in Permian oil production

As crude oil production in the Permian Basin of western Texas and eastern New Mexico has increased, pipeline infrastructure has also increased to deliver this crude oil to demand centers on the U.S. Gulf Coast. More »

American households use a variety of lightbulbs as CFL and LED adoption increases

As lighting technologies evolve and adapt to federal standards, lighting in U.S. homes is in a state of transition. Data from the 2015 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) show that, as of 2015, most homes in the United States used more than one type of lightbulb, primarily a mix of incandescent and compact fluorescent (CFL). More »

Nuclear plants account for more than half of electricity generation in Illinois

Nuclear plants in Illinois have provided about half of the state’s total electricity generation since 2010, and two nuclear plants in particular—Quad Cities and Clinton—together provided more than 12% of the state’s electricity generation over the past several years. More »

Utility-scale solar has grown rapidly over the past five years

Utility-scale solar installations—including both photovoltaic (PV) and thermal technologies—grew at an average rate of 72% per year between 2010 and 2016, faster than any other generating technologies. Utility-scale solar generation now makes up about 2% of all utility-scale electric generation. More »

Power plants’ costs and value to the grid are not easily reflected using simple metrics

Cost is one of the key factors influencing the choice of fuels and technologies used to generate electricity. Capital, maintenance, operating, and financing costs often vary significantly across technologies and fuels. In addition, regional differences in construction, fuel, transmission, and resource costs mean that location also matters. More »

Wind turbines provide 8% of U.S. generating capacity, more than any other renewable source

Wind generators accounted for 8% of the operating electric generating capacity in the United States in 2016, more than any other renewable technology, including hydroelectricity. Wind turbines have contributed more than one-third of the nearly 200 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale electricity generating capacity added since 2007. More »

Carbon intensity of energy use is lowest in U.S. industrial and electric power sectors

Of the five major energy-consuming sectors in the United States, the industrial sector produced the least amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) per unit of primary energy consumed in 2016, with emissions of 44 kilograms CO2 per million British thermal units (kgCO2/MMBtu). More »