Most pumped storage electricity generators in the U.S. were built in the 1970s

Pumped storage plants for hydroelectric power in the Unites States were built primarily between 1960 and 1990; nearly half of the pumped storage capacity still in operation was built in the 1970s. Pumped storage power plants are the largest source of electricity storage technology used in the United States, both in terms of capacity and number of plants. (Virtually all remaining commercial-sized electrical storage use thermal energy or batteries.) More »

Most utility-scale batteries in the United States are made of lithium-ion

Most of the utility-scale battery systems used for energy storage on the U.S. electric grid use lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, which are known for their high-cycle efficiency, fast response times, and high energy density. Nearly all of the utility-scale battery systems installed in the United States in the past five years use lithium-ion technology. More »

EIA projects that natural gas consumption in Asia will continue to outpace supply

From January through June of 2019, U.S. net natural gas exports averaged 4.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), more than double the average net exports in 2018 (2.0 Bcf/d), according to data in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Natural Gas Monthly. The United States became a net natural gas exporter (exported more than it imported) on an annual basis in 2017 for the first time in almost 60 years. More »

EIA projects that natural gas consumption in Asia will continue to outpace supply

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) latest International Energy Outlook 2019 (IEO2019) Reference case, future growth in natural gas consumption is concentrated in developing nations—those outside of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)—especially in non-OECD Asian countries. Major non-OECD Asian countries include China, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Vietnam. EIA expects annual natural gas consumption in non-OECD Asia to reach 120 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by 2050, outpacing regional production by 50 Bcf/d. This supply imbalance widens through the projection period, resulting in non-OECD Asia's increasing reliance on natural gas imports from other regions. More »

EPA refinery exemptions reduced renewable fuel blending requirements in 2018

On August 9, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it had granted 31 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Small Refinery Exemptions (SRE) for the 2018 compliance year, or 4 fewer than were approved for the 2017 compliance year. As of October 2019, two SRE applications were pending. The SRE waivers effectively reduced the amount of biofuel required to enter the nation's fuel supply by exempting 7.4% of the total RFS renewable fuel volume mandate for the 2018 compliance year, or about 1.43 billion gallons. More »

U.S. petroleum product exports rose slightly in the first half of 2019

In the first half of 2019, the United States exported an average of 5.47 million barrels per day (b/d) of petroleum products, an increase of 19,000 b/d (0.3%) from the first half of 2018 and the slowest year-over-year growth rate for any half year in 13 years. Two factors that likely contributed to lower exports were lower U.S. refinery runs in the first half of 2019 compared with the first half of 2018 and slowing global economic growth, which is limiting demand for petroleum products. In the first half of 2019, increased exports of propane and distillate offset decreased exports of all other petroleum products. More »

China adds incentives for domestic natural gas production as imports increase

Rapid growth in China’s natural gas consumption has outpaced growth in its domestic natural gas production in recent years. China’s natural gas imports, both by pipeline and as liquefied natural gas (LNG), accounted for nearly half (45%) of China’s natural gas supply in 2018, an increase from 15% in 2010. To increase domestic production of natural gas, the Chinese government has introduced incentives for several forms of natural gas production. More »

The United States now exports crude oil to more destinations than it imports from

As U.S. crude oil export volumes have increased to an average of 2.8 million barrels per day (b/d) in the first seven months of 2019, the number of destinations (which includes countries, territories, autonomous regions, and other administrative regions) that receive U.S. exports has also increased. Earlier this year, the number of U.S. crude oil export destinations surpassed the number of sources of U.S. crude oil imports that EIA tracks. More »

Global energy consumption driven by more electricity in residential, commercial buildings

Energy used in the buildings sector—which includes residential and commercial structures—accounted for 20% of global delivered energy consumption in 2018. In its International Energy Outlook 2019 (IEO2019) Reference case, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that global energy consumption in buildings will grow by 1.3% per year on average from 2018 to 2050. In countries that are not part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (non-OECD countries), EIA projects that energy consumed in buildings will grow by more than 2% per year, or about five times the rate of OECD countries. More »

Natural gas inventories surpass five-year average for the first time in two years

Working natural gas inventories in the Lower 48 states totaled 3,519 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ending October 11, 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report (WNGSR). This is the first week that Lower 48 states' working gas inventories have exceeded the previous five-year average since September 22, 2017. Weekly injections in three of the past four weeks each surpassed 100 Bcf, or about 27% more than typical injections for that time of year. More »

EIA’s Hourly Electric Grid Monitor shows effects of California wildfire-related shutoffs

Starting on Wednesday, October 9, 2019, California electric utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) shut off electricity to hundreds of thousands of customers in 34 California counties. PG&E had restored electricity to all of those customers by Saturday, October 12. PG&E attributed its decision to shut off electricity to gusty winds and dry conditions in the area, which increases the risk of fires that could be caused or exacerbated by damaged power lines and other electric equipment. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Hourly Electric Grid Monitor shows the effect of the shutoff event within PG&E and on the larger electric grid system in California. More »

U.S. Federal Gulf of Mexico crude oil production to continue to set records through 2020

U.S. crude oil production in the U.S. Federal Gulf of Mexico (GOM) averaged 1.8 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2018, setting a new annual record. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects oil production in the GOM to set new production records in 2019 and in 2020, even after accounting for shut-ins related to Hurricane Barry in July 2019 and including forecasted adjustments for hurricane-related shut-ins for the remainder of 2019 and for 2020. More »

Northeast natural gas spot prices fall as pipelines fill

Natural gas flows out of the Northeast region into the rest of the United States averaged over 16 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) during September—between 1 Bcf/d and 2 Bcf/d more than in previous months, according to data from Genscape. The movement of natural gas increased as natural gas spot prices have declined in the Northeast, and as production in Appalachia has continued to grow. More »

Crude oil used by U.S. refineries continues to get lighter in most regions

The API gravity of crude oil input to U.S. refineries has generally increased, or gotten lighter, since 2011 because of changes in domestic production and imports. Regionally, refinery crude slates—or the mix of crude oil grades that a refinery is processing—have become lighter in the East Coast, Gulf Coast, and West Coast regions, and they have become slightly heavier in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions. More »

California gasoline prices have risen 60 cents per gallon in the past three weeks

Gasoline prices in California have increased by 60 cents per gallon (gal) in the past three weeks, according to data in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update. Regular retail gasoline prices averaged $4.09/gal as of Monday, October 7, the highest price for the state since mid-2014. Several refineries in the area are experiencing operational issues, which has limited gasoline production. More »

Recent decrease in U.S. crude oil production was geographically isolated, likely temporary

Monthly U.S. crude oil production fell by 276,000 barrels per day (b/d) in July 2019, based on the latest data in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Petroleum Supply Monthly. This hurricane-related decrease was the largest decline in monthly crude oil production in more than a decade. The decline was temporary and geographically isolated to the Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico. EIA expects that U.S. crude oil production will continue to increase through the remainder of 2019. More »

Winter energy bills in the United States likely to be lower than last year's

On average across the United States, households can expect heating expenditures this winter (October through March) to be lower than last winter's, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Winter Fuels Outlook, released at noon today. Compared with last winter's heating bills, EIA expects households that primarily use electricity or natural gas as their heating source to spend very slightly less, households that use heating oil to spend 4% less, and households that use propane to spend 16% less. Only natural gas bills in the South are likely to rise significantly, by about 4%, primarily as a result of higher regional natural gas prices. EIA's forecast of winter heating expenditures are based on fuel price and consumption forecasts from EIA and weather forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). More »

Five states have implemented programs to assist nuclear power plants

In late July 2019, Ohio became the fifth state in the United States to enact policies that provide for compensation or other assistance for in-state nuclear generating plants. Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York have implemented similar support programs for some of their nuclear power plants since 2017. All five state states have unbundled, retail-choice electricity markets where generators do not receive cost recovery from state regulatory commissions. Nuclear power is a significant source of in-state electricity generation in each of these five states. More »

U.S. nuclear outages remained low in summer and moderate in September

U.S. nuclear electric generation plant outages averaged 2.7 gigawatts (GW) during the summer of 2019 (June through August), about the same as during the summer of 2018. Nuclear plant availability was at its highest level, meaning that nuclear outages were at their lowest level from late June to early July, averaging 1.2 GW. Although the Three Mile Island Unit 1 retired in late September, daily nuclear outages that month were 67% lower than year-ago levels. Nuclear plants undergo planned outages, usually for maintenance and refueling, or unplanned outages, such as during hurricane-related disruptions. More »

U.S. crude oil exports continued to grow in the first half of 2019

U.S. exports of crude oil rose to average 2.9 million barrels per day (b/d) in the first half of 2019, an increase of 966,000 b/d from the first half of 2018. U.S. crude oil exports also set a record-high monthly average in June 2019 at 3.2 million b/d. More »

EIA projects that renewables will provide nearly half of world electricity by 2050

In 2018, 28% of global electricity was generated from renewable energy sources, most (96%) of which was produced from hydropower, wind, and solar technologies. In its International Energy Outlook 2019 (IEO2019), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that renewables will collectively increase to 49% of global electricity generation by 2050. Of the top three renewable sources, EIA expects solar’s share of generation to grow the fastest and hydroelectric’s share to grow the slowest. More »

August non-OPEC unplanned oil production outages fell to lowest level since at least 2011

Unplanned oil production outages among countries outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) fell to 64,000 barrels per day (b/d) in August, the lowest level since the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) began tracking global production outages in 2011. Unplanned outages in major non-OPEC oil producers such as the United States, Russia, and Canada have abated, leaving Sudan and South Sudan as the only remaining non-OPEC producers with unplanned outages in August. The decline in non-OPEC unplanned outages may have contributed to the resilience of the global oil market following the disruption of almost 5.7 million b/d of Saudi Arabian crude oil production on September 14, 2019. More »