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 »

Product Highlight: U.S. Energy Mapping System

Throughout 2019, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) continued to update its U.S. Energy Mapping System to include several new map layers. The U.S. Energy Mapping System is an interactive, comprehensive visual reference for energy infrastructure in the United States that shows the locations of energy infrastructure. More »

EIA Product Highlight: Plant-level biodiesel production capacity

Earlier this year, 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 »

EIA Product Highlight: Liquids Pipeline Projects database

Earlier this year, EIA launched a liquids pipeline projects database that tracks more than 200 crude oil, hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL), and petroleum products pipeline projects. EIA based the database on the latest public information from company documents, government filings, and trade press. More »

EIA Product Highlight: STEO regional electricity generation and wholesale price forecasts

Earlier this year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) added forecasts of wholesale electricity prices at hubs in 11 electricity supply regions in the Lower 48 states to its Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). EIA also began to forecast average peak-period wholesale electricity prices for each of these STEO electricity supply regions. In addition to the new wholesale price forecasts, the STEO expanded its forecasts of electric power generation and fuel consumption for these 11 regions, Hawaii, and Alaska. More »

EIA Product Highlights: State Energy Portal and State Energy Data System

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) made it easier to access and use state-level energy information in 2019. The first improvement came with the release of the State Energy Portal, which provides greater access to state-level U.S. energy data with interactive, customizable views of more than 150 charts, tables, and maps that display more than 1,700 state-level and region-level data series. More »

SoCalGas begins December with more flexibility in its natural gas supply than last winter

On December 10, 2019, Southern California Gas Company's (SoCalGas) working natural gas inventory totaled 74.4 billion cubic feet (Bcf), nearly equal to the year-ago stock level and 9% higher than it was in 2017. Demand for natural gas in Southern California often peaks in December, when average temperatures in the region are typically at their lowest. Although the current stock level is similar to last winter's, SoCalGas has more flexibility to withdraw natural gas from storage to meet winter demand than last year. More »

EIA analysis explores India's projected energy consumption

In the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) International Energy Outlook 2019 (IEO2019), India has the fastest growing rate of energy consumption globally through 2050. By 2050, EIA projects in the IEO2019 Reference case that India will consume more energy than the United States by the mid-2040s, and its consumption will remain second only to China through 2050. EIA explored three alternative outcomes for India's energy consumption in an Issue in Focus article released today and a corresponding webinar held at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. More »

U.S. coal production employment has fallen 42% since 2011

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Annual Coal Report shows that coal mining employment has declined in the past decade as coal demand has decreased. Most U.S. coal is consumed in the electric power sector and has faced increased competition from electricity generation from natural gas and renewable technologies. U.S. coal mining employment fell from a high of 92,000 employees in 2011 to 54,000 employees in 2018, with the most dramatic decrease in the Appalachian region. More »

Auction prices for regional carbon dioxide allowances have increased since the 2017 low

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is the first mandatory market-based program in the United States intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. RGGI was formed as a cooperative effort among 10 northeastern states to cap and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the participating states’ power sectors. RGGI CO2 emission allowances are available to affected companies and other interested parties at quarterly auctions. More »

U.S. onshore wind capacity exceeds 100 gigawatts

Cumulative U.S. installed onshore wind capacity exceeded 100 gigawatts (GW) on a nameplate capacity basis as of the end of September 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. More than half of that amount has been installed since the beginning of 2012. The oldest wind turbines still operating in the United States came online as early as 1975. More »

Natural gas venting and flaring increased in North Dakota and Texas in 2018

The volume of U.S. natural gas that was reported as vented and flared reached its highest average annual level of 1.28 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2018, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Natural Gas Annual, which contains updated data about vented and flared natural gas. In 2018, the percentage of U.S. natural gas that was vented and flared increased to 1.25% of gross withdrawals, up from 0.84% the previous year. Two states, North Dakota and Texas, accounted for 1.1 Bcf/d, or 82% of the reported U.S. vented and flared natural gas. More »

U.S. petroleum exports exceed imports in September

In September 2019, the United States exported 89,000 barrels per day (b/d) more petroleum (crude oil and petroleum products) than it imported, the first month this has happened since monthly records began in 1973. A decade ago, the United States was importing 10 million b/d more petroleum than it was exporting. Long-running changes in U.S. trade patterns for both crude oil and petroleum products have resulted in a steady decrease in overall U.S. net petroleum imports. More »

EIA updates geologic maps of the Delaware Basin's Bone Spring formation

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released new maps and geologic information for the Bone Spring play in the Delaware Basin, which spans from southeastern New Mexico to western Texas. The updated information includes formation geology, deposition history, and regional tectonic features. The Delaware Basin is in the western part of the larger Permian Basin, one of the most prolific areas for oil and natural gas production in the United States More »

U.S. coal plant retirements linked to plants with higher operating costs

Since peaking at nearly 318 gigawatts (GW) in 2011, U.S. coal-fired electric generating capacity declined to 257 GW in 2017 after several coal power plants retired. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) undertook a study with Sargent & Lundy to improve modeling for the Annual Energy Outlook (AEO). The results show the relationship between plant retirements and a plant’s operating and maintenance costs. According to the report, a larger share of plants with higher operating and maintenance costs retired by 2018 than those with relatively low operating and maintenance costs. More »

Early November cold weather prompts fuel switching in PJM and MISO

A historic November cold snap sent temperatures below freezing in 75% of the Lower 48 states. Because of this cold snap, the price of natural gas increased from an average of less than $2.00 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in October to a mid-November high of $5.11/MMBtu at the Tetco M3 hub, located in northeast Pennsylvania in the PJM Interconnection (PJM). Prices rose about $1.00/MMBtu and reached nearly $3.00/MMBtu at the Chicago Citygate hub in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). These price increases resulted in coal-fired power generation replacing natural gas-fired generation starting in late October in both of these regional transmission organization markets. In both PJM and MISO, where strong competition exists between natural gas- and coal-fired generation, relative shifts in fuel prices can influence which type of power plant operates. More »