Texas ranks first in U.S.-installed wind capacity and number of turbines

As of the beginning of 2019, 41 states had at least one installed wind turbine. Of these 41 states, Texas had the largest number of turbines, with more than 13,000, and the most installed wind capacity, at 24.2 gigawatts (GW). As wind technology has advanced, turbines have grown larger in the United States, and the capacity of individual turbines has increased with size. States where wind adoption occurred early, such as California, have a high number of turbines relative to their wind generation capacity compared with states where wind was adopted later, such as Texas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Illinois More »

Efficiency requirements for residential central AC and heat pumps to rise in 2023

Beginning in 2023, all new residential central air-conditioning and air-source heat pump systems sold in the United States will be required to meet new minimum energy efficiency standards. The most recent minimum energy efficiency standards for these equipment types went into effect in 2015, and for the first time, separate standards were set for cooling central air conditioners sold in the northern parts of the United States and those sold in the southern parts. The new standards continue to set different cooling efficiency levels for air conditioners in the south, and they also require an increase in the heating efficiency of all air-source heat pumps More »

U.S. LNG exports to Europe increase amid declining demand and spot LNG prices in Asia

U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) have been growing steadily and reached a new peak of 4.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in May 2019, according to the latest data published by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy. This year, the United States became the world's third-largest LNG exporter, averaging 4.2 Bcf/d in the first five months of the year, exceeding Malaysia's LNG exports of 3.6 Bcf/d during the same period. The United States is expected to remain the third-largest LNG exporter in the world, behind Australia and Qatar, in 2019–20. More »

More U.S. coal-fired power plants are decommissioning as retirements continue

Between 2010 and the first quarter of 2019, U.S. power companies announced the retirement of more than 546 coal-fired power units, totaling about 102 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity. Plant owners intend to retire another 17 GW of coal-fired capacity by 2025, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. After a coal unit retires, the power plant site goes through a complex, multi-year process that includes decommissioning, remediation, and redevelopment. More »

U.S. government energy consumption continues to decline

The U.S. federal government consumed 915 trillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy during the 2017 fiscal year (FY), or 20% less than a decade before. The slight decline in FY 2017 marks the fifth consecutive decline in annual federal government consumption. Consumption by defense agencies accounted for more than 75% of total government energy consumption, according to data compiled by the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). More »

Saudi Arabia has been exporting more crude oil to China, less to the United States

Saudi Arabia’s crude oil production approached a four-year low in May 2019, averaging an estimated 9.9 million barrels per day (b/d), more than 1 million b/d lower than its all-time high in November 2018. Production in Saudi Arabia dropped following a December 2018 agreement by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut crude oil production. Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports, especially to the United States, have also fallen. However, some countries—in particular, China—have increased their imports of crude oil from Saudi Arabia. More »

The Suez Canal and SUMED Pipeline are critical chokepoints for oil and natural gas trade

The Suez Canal and the SUMED Pipeline are strategic routes for Persian Gulf crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments to Europe and North America. Located in Egypt, the Suez Canal connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea, and it is a critical chokepoint because of the large volumes of energy commodities that flow through it. More »

In 2018, foreign-sourced uranium accounted for 90% of U.S. nuclear operators' purchases

Most uranium purchased by U.S. civilian nuclear power reactor operators every year comes from foreign countries. In 2018, 90% of the 40 million pounds of uranium purchased was from foreign countries, led by Canada (24% of total), Kazakhstan (20%), Australia (18%), and Russia (13%). U.S.-origin uranium accounted for 10% of purchases, or 3.9 million pounds. Since 2010, between 83% and 94% of uranium purchases in any single year have come from foreign countries. More »

The number of electric utility rate cases increased in 2018

In 2018, 89 utilities—or nearly half of all major U.S. electric utilities—tried to change electricity rates by filing rate cases with state regulatory commissions; this number was the largest number since 1983. U.S. public electric utility companies must obtain permission from their regulators before changing the rates they charge customers. Of the 89 utilities filing rate cases in 2018, 10 proposed to decrease rates, 1 negotiated a rate freeze until 2020, and the other 78 utilities proposed rate increases. More »

Summer natural gas prices on track to be the lowest in more than 20 years

In its July 2019 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts Henry Hub natural gas spot prices for June, July, and August this year will average $2.37 per million British thermal units (MMBtu). If realized, this price would be the lowest summer average Henry Hub natural gas price since 1998. EIA expects Henry Hub natural gas prices will be 55 cents/MMBtu, about 19%, lower than last summer’s average. More »

Iran drives unplanned OPEC crude oil production outage to highest levels since late 2015

Unplanned crude oil production outages for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) averaged 2.5 million barrels per day (b/d) in the first half of 2019, the highest six-month average since the end of 2015. EIA estimates that in June, Iran alone accounted for more than 60% (1.7 million b/d) of all OPEC unplanned outages. More »

New EPA ruling expands sale of 15% ethanol blended motor gasoline

On May 31, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule allowing the year-round sale of motor gasoline blends containing up to 15% fuel ethanol, or E15. The ruling increases the availability of E15 blends in the United States, which are currently sold at more than 1,800 retail fuel stations across 31 states, according to Growth Energy, a trade association that represents producers and supporters of fuel ethanol. More »

EIA expects U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions to fall in 2019

After a 2.7% increase in U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2018, EIA's July Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) forecasts a 2.2% decrease in CO2 emissions for 2019. Nearly all of the forecast decrease is due to fewer emissions from coal consumption. Forecast natural gas CO2 emissions increase and petroleum CO2 emissions remain virtually unchanged. More »

Growth in Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale and tight gas production leads to LNG exports

Argentina's domestic natural gas production has been rising steadily in the past three years, largely because of increasing production from the Neuquén Basin's Vaca Muerta shale and tight gas play. Production from Vaca Muerta surpassed 1.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in December 2018. As production has grown, Argentina has resumed exporting natural gas by pipeline to neighboring Chile and Brazil and has started exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). Argentina's first LNG export cargo was shipped on June 6 from the offshore Tango floating liquefaction unit (FLNG). More »

U.S. utility-scale battery storage power capacity to grow substantially by 2023

Utility-scale battery storage units (units of one megawatt (MW) or greater power capacity) are a newer electric power resource, and their use has been growing in recent years. Operating utility-scale battery storage power capacity has more than quadrupled from the end of 2014 (214 MW) through March 2019 (899 MW). Assuming currently planned additions are completed and no current operating capacity is retired, utility-scale battery storage power capacity could exceed 2,500 MW by 2023. More »

U.S. electricity generation from renewables surpassed coal in April

Natural gas is one of the main sources of energy in the United States. In 2018, more than 90% of the natural gas consumed in the United States was produced domestically. EIA’s U.S. natural gas flow diagram helps to visualize the elements of U.S. natural gas supply (production, imports, and withdrawals from storage) and disposition (consumption, exports, and additions to storage). More »

U.S. crude oil production surpassed 12 million barrels per day in April

U.S. crude oil production reached another milestone in April 2019, totaling 12.2 million barrels per day (b/d), according to EIA's latest Petroleum Supply Monthly. April 2019 is the first time that monthly U.S. crude oil production levels surpassed 12 million b/d, and this milestone comes less than a year after U.S. crude oil production surpassed 11 million b/d in August 2018. More »

Petroleum, natural gas, and coal continue to dominate U.S. energy consumption

Fossil fuels—petroleum, natural gas, and coal—have accounted for at least 80% of energy consumption in the United States for well over a century. Overall energy consumption in the United States reached a record high in 2018 at 101 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu), of which more than 81 quadrillion Btu were from fossil fuels. Despite the increase, the fossil fuel share of total U.S. energy consumption in 2018 increased only slightly from 2017 and was the second-lowest share since 1902. More »