Smoke from California wildfires decreases solar generation in CAISO

In the first two weeks of September 2020, average solar-powered electricity generation in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), which covers 90% of utility-scale solar capacity in California, declined nearly 30% from the July 2020 average as wildfires burned across the state. Wildfire smoke contains small, airborne particulate matter particles that are generally 2.5 micrometers or smaller (referred to as PM2.5). This matter reduces the amount of sunlight that reaches solar panels, decreasing solar-powered electricity generation. As of September 28, California wildfires have burned an estimated 3.6 million acres in 2020, an area about the size of Connecticut. More »

U.S. fuel ethanol production capacity increased by 3% in 2019

Fuel ethanol production capacity in the United States totaled 17.3 billion gallons per year (gal/y), or 1.1 million barrels per day (b/d), as of January 2020, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) 2020 U.S. Fuel Ethanol Plant Production Capacity Report, released on September 25, 2020. Nameplate capacity of operable ethanol plants increased by 3%—470 million gal/y—between January 2019 and January 2020. More »

Slightly more U.S. petroleum products were exported in first half of 2020 than in 2019

In the first half of 2020, the United States exported 5.4 million barrels per day (b/d) of petroleum products, a slight increase of 48,000 b/d (1%) from the first half of 2019. Greater exports of propane and other hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs) more than offset declines in U.S. exports of transportation fuels such as gasoline, distillate fuel oil, and jet fuel. More »

In 2019, 9 of the 10 highest-generating U.S. power plants were nuclear plants

According to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data on power plant operations, 9 of the 10 U.S. power plants that generated the most electricity in 2019 were nuclear plants. These 10 plants generated a combined 230 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity in 2019, accounting for 5.6% of all electricity generation in the United States. The makeup of power plants that generate the most electricity has shifted in the past 10 years from a mix of nuclear and coal plants to almost all nuclear in 2019. More »

More coal was consumed in Indiana than in all but two U.S. states in 2019

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) latest coal data, the 36.7 million short tons of coal consumed in Indiana during 2019 was more than any state in the nation besides Texas and North Dakota. Indiana accounted for 6.5% of the total coal consumed in the United States in 2019. More »

OPEC+ agreement to reduce production contributes to global oil market rebalancing

On April 15, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and 10 non-OPEC partner countries, collectively known as OPEC+, agreed to reduce crude oil production in response to rapidly increasing global oil inventories in the first quarter of 2020. At the time, efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus resulted in a steep decline in demand for petroleum liquids and lower crude oil prices. Starting in May 2020, the OPEC+ agreement called for a decrease in crude oil output by an initial 9.7 million barrels per day (b/d) that gradually tapers through April 2022, the end of the current agreement period. More »

U.S. crude oil exports have fallen in each month since their record high in February

U.S. crude oil exports reached a record high in February 2020 and have since fallen in each month, based on data through June, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Petroleum Supply Monthly. However, U.S. crude oil exports in the first half of the year are still higher than they were in the first half of 2019. Monthly crude oil imports declined sharply in April before increasing in May and June, but they were still lower in the first half of 2020 compared with the first half of 2019. More »

Industrial sector consumption of natural gas falls amid slowing economy

The consumption of natural gas in the U.S. industrial sector declined from 25.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in January 2020 to 20.1 Bcf/d in June 2020, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's Natural Gas Monthly. Industrial natural gas consumption in June 2020 was nearly 1.0 Bcf/d lower than its year-ago level. The decline in industrial sector natural gas consumption compared with the previous year began in March 2020, amid responses to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that resulted in a global economic slowdown. Consumption by the industrial sector reached its lowest point in May 2020, falling by 8% compared with 2019. May 2020 consumption of natural gas by U.S. industry marked the largest year-over-year decline since July 2009, during the 2007–2009 recession. Before this year, average U.S. industrial natural gas consumption grew 5.4% in 2018 and was relatively flat (growing 0.1%) in 2019. More »

U.S. nuclear capacity outages were 35% higher in summer 2020 than 2019

U.S. nuclear capacity outages averaged 4.2 gigawatts (GW) during the summer of 2020 (June through August), nearly 35% higher than the 2.7 GW average in summer 2019. Summer nuclear outages were at their lowest level from late June to mid-July, averaging 2.3 GW. Outages significantly increased in the latter half of July, peaking in late July at 6.5 GW and peaking again in August at 6.2 GW. More »

EIA survey of energy use by U.S. manufacturers shows increased use of natural gas, HGLs

Preliminary results from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) 2018 Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS) show that the consumption of energy by manufacturers in the United States has continued to increase since its 2010 low. Natural gas and hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs) led the increase, together accounting for more than half of the sector’s energy consumption in 2018. The U.S. manufacturing sector’s consumption of electricity has also increased slightly since 2010, but consumption of naphtha and fuel oils, coal, coke, and breeze has declined. More »

Average U.S. construction costs for solar and wind generation continue to fall

According to 2018 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 and onshore wind turbines have continued to decrease. Natural gas generator costs also decreased slightly in 2018. More »

U.S. natural gas exports have been declining since April

In 2017, the United States exported more natural gas than it imported on an annual basis for the first time in nearly 60 years, making it a net natural gas exporter. Since then, U.S. net natural gas exports have more than doubled every year: from 0.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2017 to 2 Bcf/d in 2018 and to 5.2 Bcf/d in 2019. Although growth in net natural gas exports continued in the first six months of 2020 (compared with the same period in 2019), net exports began declining in spring 2020 as a result of a global economic slowdown amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and related containment efforts. Starting in April, U.S. natural gas traded as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and by pipelines declined significantly, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) recently released Natural Gas Monthly, which includes data through June 2020. More »

Fossil fuels account for the largest share of U.S. energy production and consumption

Fossil fuels, or energy sources formed in the Earth's crust from decayed organic material, including petroleum, natural gas, and coal, continue to account for the largest share of energy production and consumption in the United States. In 2019, 80% of domestic energy production was from fossil fuels, and 80% of domestic energy consumption originated from fossil fuels. More »

EIA expects U.S. hydroelectric generation to increase in 2020 despite drought conditions

In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that electricity generation from hydroelectric power plants in the United States will grow by 4% in 2020 from 2019 levels, to 280 billion kilowatthours, despite current drought conditions and extensive wildfires in parts of the country, including in the Pacific Northwest. More »

In 2018, U.S. energy expenditures increased for the second consecutive year

U.S. total energy expenditures, the total amount of money spent directly by consumers to purchase energy, increased for the second year in a row to $1.3 trillion in 2018, according to the latest data in the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) State Energy Data System (SEDS). U.S. energy expenditures increased by nearly $200 billion from 2016 to 2018, a 17% increase in real terms, as both energy consumption and average energy prices increased faster than population and gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States. More »

The U.S. continued to produce more light crude oil in 2019 and import less heavy crude oil

Total U.S. crude oil production grew by 1.24 million barrels per day (b/d) (11%) in 2019. This increase in production was led by relatively light, less dense crude oil and was largely the result of the growth in crude oil production from shale and tight rock formations. Shale and tight rock formations are now more accessible because of the continued advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. U.S. refinery inputs have also become lighter over the years as refineries use less of the heavier, imported crude oil and more of the lighter, domestically produced crude oil to process into petroleum products. More »

Natural gas price differentials to Henry Hub narrowed at most hubs in first half of 2020

The average spot price differentials between regional natural gas hubs and the Henry Hub, also typically known in the natural gas industry as the basis price, have narrowed at many trading hubs in the first half of 2020 compared with the first half of 2019. The natural gas basis reflects the difference between the price of natural gas at the benchmark Henry Hub in Louisiana and the price of natural gas at another delivery point elsewhere in the country. The basis at key demand hubs (near population centers) narrowed primarily because of weather-related factors, but the basis at some supply hubs (near production areas) narrowed because of decreases in natural gas production. Declines in economic activity related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its mitigation efforts generally further narrowed the basis at both demand and supply hubs. More »

U.S. gasoline prices heading into Labor Day weekend are the lowest since 2004

The U.S. average regular gasoline retail price as of the Monday before Labor Day weekend is $2.22 per gallon (gal) this year, the lowest level for this time of year since 2004, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) weekly gasoline price series. U.S. gasoline prices are relatively low because of continued low demand for gasoline since mid-March, when travel demand fell because of efforts to limit the spread of coronavirus. More »

Demand for jet fuel in the U.S. is recovering faster than in many other markets

U.S. jet fuel consumption has been particularly affected by responses to the 2019 novel coronavirus. However, analysis of flight-level data provided by Cirium on commercial passenger flights—a category of aircraft that the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates accounted for 73% of total U.S. jet fuel consumption in January 2020—suggests that demand for jet fuel in the United States has, so far, recovered faster than in many other major aviation markets. More »

As U.S. coal-fired capacity and utilization decline, operators consider seasonal operation

Coal-fired electricity generating capacity in the United States is retiring, as tighter air emission standards and decreased cost-competitiveness relative to other power resources make coal-fired power plants less economical. From 2011 to mid-2020, 95 gigawatts (GW) of coal capacity was closed or switched to another fuel and another 25 GW is slated to shut down by 2025, based on information power plant operators reported to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The closures will decrease the capacity of the U.S. coal fleet to less than 200 GW, more than one-third lower than its peak of 314 GW in 2011. As the coal-fired fleet is retired and remaining plants are utilized less, plant owners are evaluating new operating models, such as seasonal operation. More »