U.S. biomass-based diesel imports down for second consecutive year in 2018

U.S. imports of biomass-based diesel, which include biodiesel and renewable diesel, totaled 22,000 barrels per day in 2018, down 42% from 2017, and 64% lower than the all-time high set in 2016. Although increasing Renewable Fuel Standard targets have driven biomass-based diesel demand in recent years, imports have fallen sharply—largely because of U.S. Department of Commerce import duties imposed on foreign biodiesel volumes sourced from Argentina and Indonesia, countries which made up 60% of total U.S. imports of biomass-based diesel in 2016. More »

Panama Canal expansion allows more transits of propane and other hydrocarbon gas liquids

In June 2016, the Panama Canal Authority, the body that operates the Panama Canal, opened a third set of locks that facilitated transit of larger ships, the first such expansion since the canal was completed in 1914. In the years since the canal was expanded, the largest change in petroleum flows through the canal has been the increase of hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL), especially propane, from the U.S. Gulf Coast to destinations in Asia More »

The Northeast leads the country in net-metered wind electricity generation capacity

Since 2011, net-metered wind electric generating capacity in the Northeast has grown faster than in the rest of the United States. Like small-scale solar photovoltaic systems, many of which are net-metered, net-metered wind systems are much smaller than their utility-scale counterparts. Although the amount of net-metered wind in the United States is small—just 0.2% of all U.S. wind capacity in 2017—much of it has come online in the past few years because of state policies that encourage the adoption of small-scale wind turbines. More »

New wind and solar power projects tend to come online at the end of the year

New electricity generating capacity is brought online throughout the year, but December has historically been the most significant month for both onshore wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity additions in the United States. Over the past nine years (2010–2018), 43% of all onshore wind capacity and 33% of all solar PV capacity have been added in December. U.S. wind and solar capacities receive a production tax credit (PTC) and an investment tax credit (ITC), respectively, which may provide incentives to come online at the end of the year. More »

The United States exported a record volume of ethanol in 2018 for second consecutive year

The United States exported 112,000 barrels per day (b/d) of fuel ethanol in 2018, surpassing the record high of 91,000 b/d set in 2017. At the same time, U.S. imports of fuel ethanol decreased about 30% in 2018 to less than 4,000 b/d, which resulted in the United States exporting more fuel ethanol than it imported for the ninth year in a row. More »

U.S. petroleum product exports set record high in 2018

U.S. exports of total petroleum products set a record high in 2018, reaching an annual average of 5.6 million barrels per day (b/d), an increase of 366,000 b/d from 2017 levels. The three largest petroleum product exports from the United States in 2018 were distillate, propane, and motor gasoline. U.S. exports of motor gasoline (including blending components) and propane reached record highs in 2018, and exports of distillate reached their second-highest volume on record, following the high set in 2017. More »

U.S. energy trade with Mexico involves importing crude oil, exporting petroleum products

Energy trade accounted for 12% of the value for all U.S. exports to Mexico and 5% of all U.S. imports from Mexico in 2018, based on the latest annual data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Energy trade between Mexico and the United States has historically been driven by Mexico’s sales of crude oil to the United States and by U.S. net exports of refined petroleum products to Mexico. More »

U.S. natural gas inventories end withdrawal season at lowest level since spring 2014

Working natural gas in storage in the Lower 48 states at the end of March totaled 1,137 billion cubic feet (Bcf) according to EIA’s Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report. As of March 31, the usual end of the natural gas withdrawal season, working natural gas inventories were 30% lower than the previous five-year average for that time of year. This end-of-season level was the lowest since 2014, when working natural gas inventories at the end of March 2014 totaled 837 Bcf. More »

EIA expects 2019 summer average residential electricity use to be lowest in five years

EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook forecasts that the typical U.S. residential household will consume about 3,080 kilowatthours of electricity this summer (June through August), down 5% from the average summer consumption in 2018. If this forecast is realized, it would be the lowest level of electricity consumption per customer since 2014 and the second-lowest level since 2001. EIA expects summer electricity consumption will be lower than in 2017 because of milder projected temperatures. More »

Summer 2019 gasoline prices forecast to be lower than last summer

In the April 2019 update of its Summer Fuels Outlook, EIA expects the retail price of U.S. regular-grade gasoline will average $2.76 per gallon (gal) during the summer from April through September 2019. EIA’s expected average is down 3% from the 2018 summer average of $2.85/gal, mainly because EIA expects crude oil prices will be lower than last summer. EIA publishes the Summer Fuels Outlook as a supplement to its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). More »

In 2018, the United States consumed more energy than ever before

Primary energy consumption in the United States reached a record high of 101.3 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) in 2018, up 4% from 2017 and 0.3% above the previous record set in 2007. The increase in 2018 was the largest increase in energy consumption, in both absolute and percentage terms, since 2010. More »

The U.S. exported 2 million barrels per day of crude oil in 2018 to 42 destinations

In 2018, U.S. exports of crude oil rose to 2.0 million barrels per day (b/d), nearly double the 1.2 million b/d rate in 2017. Export volumes by destination changed significantly during the year, as U.S. crude oil exports to China fell and exports to other destinations such as South Korea, Taiwan, and Canada increased. More »

Increases in electricity generation from biomass stop after a decade of growth

Electricity generated from biomass and waste totaled 70.6 million megawatthours (MWh) in 2018, or about 2% of total U.S. electricity generation. Expansion in electricity generation from biomass and waste has ended in recent years, after growing from 2004 through 2014, and in 2018 was 2% below its peak generation of 71.7 million MWh in 2014. More »

One in ten U.S. households pays an energy bill indirectly as part of rent or condo fees

Many U.S. households do not pay energy utilities or other suppliers directly for using electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, or propane but pay indirectly through rent, fees, or to a third party such as a housing authority. Data from the most recent Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) show that, in 2015, 12.4 million of the nation’s 118 million households (11%) paid some or all of their energy costs indirectly. Indirect payment of energy bills was more likely for households in multifamily buildings, where 34% made indirect energy payments, compared with single-family homes, where only 2% made indirect energy payments. More »

U.S. natural gas-fired combined-cycle capacity surpasses coal-fired capacity

The amount of generating capacity from natural gas-fired combined-cycle (NGCC) plants has grown steadily over time, and in 2018, surpassed coal-fired plants as the technology with the most electricity generating capacity in the United States. As of January 2019, U.S. generating capacity at NGCC power plants totaled 264 gigawatts (GW), compared with 243 GW at coal-fired power plants More »

U.S. crude oil production grew 17% in 2018, surpassing the previous record in 1970

Annual U.S. crude oil production reached a record level of 10.96 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2018, 1.6 million b/d (17%) higher than 2017 levels. In December 2018, monthly U.S. crude oil production reached 11.96 million b/d, the highest monthly level of crude oil production in U.S. history. U.S. crude oil production has increased significantly over the past 10 years, driven mainly by production from tight rock formations using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. EIA projects that U.S. crude oil production will continue to grow in 2019 and 2020, averaging 12.3 million b/d and 13.0 million b/d, respectively. More »

Puerto Rico’s LNG imports returned to pre-Hurricane Maria levels in late 2018

In 2018, Puerto Rico’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports neared 2016 annual levels, according to the recently released LNG Annual Report published by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy. Imports into Puerto Rico were disrupted in 2017 after Hurricane Maria made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on September 20, 2017. Puerto Rico imported 60.3 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of LNG in 2018, a level similar to the total LNG imports of 61.3 Bcf in 2016. More »

More than 80% of Idaho’s in-state electricity generation comes from renewables

More than 80% of Idaho’s in-state utility-scale electricity generation came from renewable resources in 2018, the second-largest share of any state in the country, behind only Vermont, according to recently released data from EIA’s Electric Power Monthly. Idaho generated 17.4 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity in 2018, of which 14.2 million MWh came from renewable sources. More »

California imports the most electricity from other states; Pennsylvania exports the most

ectricity routinely flows among the Lower 48 states and, to a lesser extent, between the United States and Canada and Mexico. From 2013 to 2017, Pennsylvania was the largest net exporter of electricity, sending an annual average of 59 million megawatthours (MWh) outside the state. California was the largest net importer, receiving an average of 77 million MWh annually. More »

Pacific Northwest sees highest daily natural gas spot prices in the U.S. since 2014

Natural gas spot prices at the Sumas trading point on the Canada-Washington border averaged $161.33 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Friday, March 1, the highest daily spot price recorded by Natural Gas Intelligence anywhere in the United States in at least five years. The price spike was caused by regional supply constraints and unseasonably cold temperatures. More »

U.S. refinery runs hit fifth consecutive annual record high in 2018

Gross inputs to U.S. petroleum refineries, also referred to as refinery runs, averaged 17.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2018, the highest annual average on record and the fifth consecutive year of record-high refinery runs. Refinery runs peaked in June at an average of 18.0 million b/d, with average weekly runs exceeding 18.0 million b/d during six weeks in 2018. More »

Energy-related carbon dioxide emission profiles differ dramatically from state to state

Texas has more energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than any other state, while Vermont has the least, according to EIA’s recently released Energy-related Carbon Dioxide Emissions by State, 2005-2016. In addition to energy-related CO2 emissions estimates for all 50 states, the report provides data on CO2 emissions per capita and emissions broken out by fuel and by sector. More »