EIA projects global energy-related CO2 emissions will increase through 2050

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy-related sources will continue to grow in the coming decades. EIA's International Energy Outlook 2019 (IEO2019) projects that global energy-related CO2 emissions will grow 0.6% per year from 2018 to 2050 in its Reference case. However, future growth in energy-related CO2 emissions is not evenly distributed across the world: relatively developed economies collectively have no emissions growth, so all of the future growth in energy-related CO2 emissions is among the group of countries outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). More »

Most wind capacity in the United States is designed for a medium wind speed environment

Most wind turbines in the United States were designed for medium wind environments, according to data collected in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Annual Electric Generator Report. Wind design classes, as defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), range from Class 1 (high wind) to Class 4 (very low wind). More »

Maine and New York become the 6th and 7th states to adopt 100% clean electricity targets

As of the end of 2018, 29 states and the District of Columbia had adopted renewable portfolio standards (RPS), polices that require electricity suppliers to source a certain amount of their electricity from designated renewable resources or eligible technologies. Three states—Maine, New York, and Ohio—have updated their RPS since May 2019. As a result of their updates, Maine and New York joined California, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, and the District of Columbia in requiring 100% clean electricity by 2050. More »

U.S. sees largest weekly gasoline price increase since Hurricane Harvey

The U.S. average retail gasoline price increased by more than 10 cents per gallon (gal) from the previous week, based on data in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update. This increase was the largest since early September 2017, when the national average gasoline price rose 28 cents/gal in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. EIA surveys retail gasoline and diesel fuel stations each Monday morning. More »

EIA projects nearly 50% increase in world energy usage by 2050, led by growth in Asia

In the International Energy Outlook 2019 (IEO2019) Reference case, released at 9:00 a.m. today, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that world energy consumption will grow by nearly 50% between 2018 and 2050. Most of this growth comes from countries that are not in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and this growth is focused in regions where strong economic growth is driving demand, particularly in Asia. More »

Saudi Arabia crude oil production outage affects global crude oil and gasoline prices

On Saturday, September 14, 2019, an attack damaged the Saudi Aramco Abqaiq oil processing facility and the Khurais oil field in eastern Saudi Arabia. The Abqaiq oil processing facility is the world's largest crude oil processing and stabilization plant, with a capacity of 7 million barrels per day (b/d) or about 7% of global crude oil production capacity. On Monday, September 16, the first full day of trading after the attack, Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices experienced the largest single-day price increase in the past decade. More »

Increase in U.S. fuel ethanol production capacity slows

Fuel ethanol production capacity in the United States totaled 16.9 billion gallons per year (gal/year) or 1.1 million barrels per day (b/d), as of January 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) 2019 U.S. Fuel Ethanol Plant Production Capacity report, released on August 26. Nameplate capacity of operable ethanol plants increased by 2%—more than 300 million gal/year—between January 2018 and January 2019 after increasing by more than 700 million gallons in the previous year. More »

Many wind turbines are slated to come online in the United States in 2019 and 2020

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects that U.S. wind capacity additions in both 2019 and in 2020 will be near the annual record level of additions set in 2012. Wind capacity additions through June 2019 totaled 3.7 gigawatts (GW). According to projects reported to EIA through surveys and on EIA’s Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory, operators expect another 8.5 GW to come online by the end of this year, with an additional 14.3 GW by the end of 2020. More »

Fossil fuels continue to account for the largest share of U.S. energy

Fossil fuels continue to account for the largest share of energy consumption in the United States. In 2018, about 79% of domestic energy production was from fossil fuels, and 80% of domestic energy consumption originated from fossil fuels. More »

Natural gas and wind forecast to be fastest growing sources of U.S. electricity generation

In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that natural gas-fired electricity generation in the United States will increase by 6% in 2019 and by 2% in 2020. EIA also forecasts that generation from wind power will increase by 6% in 2019 and by 14% in 2020. These trends vary widely among the regions of the country; growth in natural gas generation is highest in the mid-Atlantic region and growth in wind generation is highest in Texas. EIA expects coal-fired electricity generation to decline nationwide, falling by 15% in 2019 and by 9% in 2020. More »

EIA releases plant-level U.S. biodiesel production capacity data

On September 13, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its first annual U.S. Biodiesel Plant Production Capacity Report. The report includes the total biodiesel production capacity for all operating plants in both million gallons per year (gal/y) and barrels per day (b/d) as of January 1, 2019. The names of the reporting plants are organized by Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts (PADD). Like the Ethanol Plant Production Capacity Report, EIA plans to update the report annually. More »

Coal shipments to the U.S. power sector continue to fall

Nearly 600 million short tons (MMst) of coal was shipped to the U.S. electric power sector in 2018, the lowest level since 1983. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) power sector surveys, more than 75% of the coal delivered to the power sector last year was shipped either completely or in part by rail; the remainder was shipped by river barge, truck, and other methods. More »

U.S. natural gas production reaches a new record despite low prices

U.S. natural gas production continued to increase in August, setting a new daily production record of 92.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) on August 19, 2019, according to estimates from IHS Markit. Natural gas production also set a new monthly record in August, averaging more than 91 Bcf/d for the first time. In the latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), released on September 10, 2019, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts dry natural gas production to average 93.4 Bcf/d from September through the end of the year. U.S. natural gas production increased by 7.1 Bcf/d (8%) between August 2018 and August 2019, led by production gains primarily in the Northeast. More »

The nonmetallic minerals industry is one of the world’s top energy users

The industrial sector is the largest energy end-use sector by consumption in the world, accounting for about 55% of world delivered energy in 2018, according to the International Energy Agency. In the industrial sector, the nonmetallic minerals industry is one of the largest energy users, accounting for 10% of global industrial sector energy use. The nonmetallic minerals industry uses a large amount of process heat (primarily in ovens and kilns), which links the industry to the global energy system. More »

Time between drilling and first production has little effect on oil well production

According to North Dakota production data, the length of time that an oil well has been drilled but remains uncompleted—meaning it has not yet started producing—has little effect on its initial production level. Oil wells are sometimes drilled but remain uncompleted for other operational or economic reasons. The North Dakota data provides insights into oil well completion practices. More »

Natural gas-fired power generation has grown in Florida, displacing coal

Florida added nearly 16 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale natural gas-fired electric generation between 2008 and 2018, about one-quarter (24%) of all U.S. natural gas installations during this time and the most of any state. During the same period, electric utility net generation in Florida grew about 15%, increasing natural gas's share of the in-state generation fuel mix from nearly half (47%) to three-fourths (72%) of the total. EIA expects natural gas-fired generation capacity to continue to grow, displacing more emissions-intensive and less cost-competitive generation fuel sources such as coal and petroleum liquids. More »

Permian Basin natural gas prices up as a new pipeline nears completion

Natural gas spot prices at the Waha hub in western Texas, located near Permian Basin production, settled at $1.55/million British thermal units (MMBtu) on August 15, the highest price since March 2019. This price increase coincides with the 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) Gulf Coast Express Pipeline (GCX) preparing to enter service. GCX will provide much-needed additional natural gas takeaway pipeline capacity from the Permian region of western Texas and southeastern New Mexico. More »

Electric generation transforms primary energy into secondary energy

In 2018, U.S. utility-scale electricity generation facilities consumed nearly 39 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) of energy to provide 13 quads of electricity for end-use consumption. Of the 101 quads of total primary energy consumed in 2018, U.S. electricity generation accounted for more than 38% of total end-use consumption. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) U.S. electricity flow diagram visualizes U.S. electricity flow from energy sources consumed to generate electricity and electricity net imports to disposition (conversion and other losses, plant use, and end-use consumption). More »

North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming consume the most residential energy per capita

In 2017, people in the United States consumed an average of 61 million British thermal units (Btu) of energy per capita in the residential sector, a 2% decrease from 2016 and the lowest level since 1967. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Key Statistics and Indicators section of the State Energy Data System (SEDS) show that in 2017, North Dakota had the highest residential energy consumption per capita of any state at 91.5 million Btu and Hawaii had the lowest at 23.9 million Btu. More »

Average U.S. construction costs for solar generation continue to decrease

According to 2017 data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) for newly constructed utility-scale electric generators in the United States, annual capacity-weighted average construction costs for solar photovoltaic systems continued to decrease. At the same time, costs for onshore wind turbines and natural gas generators increased slightly. These three generation technologies accounted for more than 97% of total capacity added to the grid in the United States in 2017. Since 2013, average costs for solar photovoltaic generators have fallen by 37%, wind by 13%, and natural gas by 4.7%. Total investment in U.S. electric generating capacity in 2017 decreased by 27% from the previous year. More »

Permian Basin natural gas prices up as a new pipeline nears completion

Natural gas spot prices at the Waha hub in western Texas, located near Permian Basin production, settled at $1.55/million British thermal units (MMBtu) on August 15, the highest price since March 2019. This price increase coincides with the 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) Gulf Coast Express Pipeline (GCX) preparing to enter service. GCX will provide much-needed additional natural gas takeaway pipeline capacity from the Permian region of western Texas and southeastern New Mexico. More »

Electric generation transforms primary energy into secondary energy

In 2018, U.S. utility-scale electricity generation facilities consumed nearly 39 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) of energy to provide 13 quads of electricity for end-use consumption. Of the 101 quads of total primary energy consumed in 2018, U.S. electricity generation accounted for more than 38% of total end-use consumption. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) U.S. electricity flow diagram visualizes U.S. electricity flow from energy sources consumed to generate electricity and electricity net imports to disposition (conversion and other losses, plant use, and end-use consumption). More »

North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming consume the most residential energy per capita

In 2017, people in the United States consumed an average of 61 million British thermal units (Btu) of energy per capita in the residential sector, a 2% decrease from 2016 and the lowest level since 1967. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Key Statistics and Indicators section of the State Energy Data System (SEDS) show that in 2017, North Dakota had the highest residential energy consumption per capita of any state at 91.5 million Btu and Hawaii had the lowest at 23.9 million Btu. More »

Average U.S. construction costs for solar generation continue to decrease

According to 2017 data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) for newly constructed utility-scale electric generators in the United States, annual capacity-weighted average construction costs for solar photovoltaic systems continued to decrease. At the same time, costs for onshore wind turbines and natural gas generators increased slightly. These three generation technologies accounted for more than 97% of total capacity added to the grid in the United States in 2017. Since 2013, average costs for solar photovoltaic generators have fallen by 37%, wind by 13%, and natural gas by 4.7%. Total investment in U.S. electric generating capacity in 2017 decreased by 27% from the previous year. More »