Extreme winter weather event in Texas reduced fuel ethanol production in February

The colder-than-normal weather that affected much of the United States in mid-February and disrupted Midcontinent and Gulf Coast petroleum markets also affected fuel ethanol producers. Fuel ethanol production fell to the lowest levels since the onset of responses to COVID-19 in spring 2020. U.S. weekly fuel ethanol production fell to an average of 658,000 barrels per day (b/d) during the week of February 21, 2021, which was the lowest weekly production level since May 11, 2020, and 38% lower than at the same time last year, according to EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report. Production rates have since returned to average levels, but fuel ethanol inventories remain lower than their typical seasonal averages heading into the summer driving season. More »

U.S. gasoline prices have been rising with crude oil prices

U.S. regular retail gasoline prices averaged $2.85 per gallon (gal) on Monday, March 29, according to EIA's Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update. U.S. gasoline prices have generally increased since reaching a multiyear low of $1.77/gal in late April 2020, primarily because of higher crude oil prices and higher wholesale gasoline margins. Prior to this week's small decline, U.S. gasoline prices increased for 17 consecutive weeks in EIA's survey, marking the longest consecutive streak of price increases since 1994. More »

U.S. electric power industry produces less and recycles more combustible by-product

Combustible by-product (CBP) production in the U.S. electric power industry decreased from 135.1 million short tons in 2010 to 88.7 million short tons in 2019, a 34% decline. CBPs are residues left over after the combustion of coal, petroleum coke, residual fuel oil, and wood or wood waste. CBPs can be disposed of in onsite or offsite landfills or ponds, reused in products such as concrete wallboard or as structural fill to support roadways (referred to as beneficial reuse), or stored for subsequent disposal or reuse. The beneficial reuse rate of CBPs from operating power plants increased from 38% in 2010 to 44% in 2019. More »

Utilities continue to increase spending on the electric transmission system

Annual spending by major U.S. electric utilities on the U.S. electric transmission system has increased from $9.1 billion (2019 dollars) in 2000 to $40.0 billion in 2019. This spending includes investment in new transmission infrastructure as well as the operation and maintenance of existing transmission systems. Based on information compiled from reports to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), spending is leveling off but still rose 3% from 2018 to 2019. Of the $40.0 billion that major utilities spent in 2019, $23.5 billion was on new transmission investment, a 1% increase over the previous year. Utilities spent $16.6 billion on transmission system operations and maintenance (O&M) in 2019, 7% more than in 2018. More »

For most of 2020, China's refineries processed more crude oil than U.S. refineries

In April 2020, more crude oil was being refined in China's refineries than in U.S. refineries for the first month on record, and the trend continued for all remaining months in 2020 except for July and August. China processed more crude oil than the United States not only because of the unique effects of COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions in 2020, but also because of differences in the longer-term structural refining trends between the two countries. More »

EIA's AEO2021 shows growing use of batteries on the U.S. electricity grid

In the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Annual Energy Outlook 2021 (AEO2021), EIA projects a significant number of battery energy storage systems will be added to the U.S. power grid. In the AEO2021 Reference case, which reflects current laws and regulations, 59 gigawatts (GW) of battery storage will serve the power grid in 2050. More »

CO2 emissions prices in the Northeast states reached record levels in most recent auction

The most recent Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) quarterly auction, held on March 3, 2021, resulted in a clearing price of $7.60 per short ton of carbon dioxide (CO2), surpassing the previous high price of $7.50 per short ton reached in December 2015. States can reinvest the proceeds from these auctions in consumer benefit programs to improve energy efficiency and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy technologies in the electric power sector. More »

U.S. LNG exports in EIA's AEO2021 side cases vary with crude oil, natural gas prices

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Annual Energy Outlook 2021 (AEO2021) projects that the volume of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports through 2050 will span a wide range based on its published side cases. In the AEO2021 Reference case, U.S. LNG exports continue to grow throughout the 2020s, reaching 13.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) after 2030. LNG exports vary across cases from approximately 8 Bcf/d to more than 27 Bcf/d, which illustrates how the volume of LNG exports depends on crude oil and domestic natural gas prices. More »

EIA projects U.S. jet fuel consumption won't increase as quickly as air travel demand

U.S. air travel fell significantly in 2020 because of reduced travel in response to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. In its Annual Energy Outlook 2021 (AEO2021) Reference case, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects total U.S. passenger air travel demand will return to 2019 levels by 2025, but passenger travel jet fuel consumption will not return to 2019 levels until nearly 2030. Increasing air travel efficiency means that increasing air travel does not necessarily result in similar changes in jet fuel consumption. More »

Less electricity was generated by coal than nuclear in the United States in 2020

U.S. coal-fired electricity generated totaled 774 million megawatthours (MWh) in 2020, which is less than both natural gas-fired (1.6 billion MWh) and nuclear-powered generation (790 million MWh), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Electric Power Monthly. Last year marked the first time that coal was not the largest or second-largest source of annual electricity generation in the United States since at least 1949. However, EIA expects U.S. coal-fired electricity generation to increase and for nuclear-powered electricity generation to decrease in both 2021 and 2022. More »

EIA expects crude oil prices to rise through April because of lower OPEC production

In its March Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects Brent crude oil prices will average $64 per barrel (b) in the second quarter of 2021 and then fall to less than $60/b through the end of 2022. Higher crude oil prices in March and April are primarily a result of lower crude oil production from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and partner countries (OPEC+), as announced at their March 4 meeting. More »

Recent completions of natural gas pipeline projects increase transportation capacity

From November 2020 through January 2021, approximately 4.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of new natural gas pipeline capacity entered service, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Natural Gas Pipeline Project Tracker. More »

Asia became the main export destination for growing U.S. LNG exports in 2020

U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) continued to grow in 2020, averaging 6.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) on an annual basis, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's Natural Gas Monthly. LNG exports increased 1.6 Bcf/d, or 32%, compared with 2019 levels. U.S. LNG exports were relatively high from January through May. In the summer months, they declined to record lows following dropping international natural gas and LNG prices. By October, U.S. LNG exports started to increase again, despite brief interruptions caused by Hurricanes Laura and Delta. In November and December 2020, U.S. LNG exports reached all-time highs. U.S. LNG was exported to 37 countries, a record number, and Asia overtook Europe to become the main export destination in 2020. More »

Texas uses natural gas for electricity generation and home heating

In February 2021, an extreme winter weather event affected energy supply and demand in Texas. The cold temperatures that increased demand for electricity and heating in Texas also disrupted energy supply, causing health and safety concerns. Because natural gas is used to generate a large share of the electricity in Texas (52% in February 2020, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Electricity Data Browser), a drop in natural gas-fired generation during the cold weather event significantly affected total electricity generation. More »

Annual U.S. coal exports drop 26% between 2019 and 2020

In 2020, U.S. coal exports declined to 69 million metric short tons (MMst), a 26% decrease from 93 MMst in 2019. Steam coal exports, which accounted for 40% of the total, declined by more than one-third, dropping 34% from the previous year to 27 MMst. Metallurgical coal had a smaller, but still significant, decrease of 20%. The COVID-19 pandemic slowed global demand for coal, and some U.S. coal mines were idled for extended periods to slow the spread of the virus. Coal exports decreased significantly in April 2020 as the United States and countries around the world responded to the pandemic. More »

U.S. natural gas consumption was lower in 2020 in all sectors except electric power

U.S. natural gas end-use deliveries in 2020 decreased in three out of four consuming sectors relative to 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Natural Gas Monthly. Despite mild winter weather and the economic effects of COVID-19, the second-highest annual amount of natural gas was delivered in the United States to end users in 2020, averaging 75.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) for the year. The highest annual amount of natural gas consumption in the United States occurred in 2019, when end-use deliveries reached 77.6 Bcf/d. More »

U.S. crude oil production fell by 8% in 2020, the largest annual decrease on record

U.S. crude oil production averaged 11.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2020, down 935,000 b/d (8%) from the record annual average high of 12.2 million b/d in 2019. The 2020 decrease in production was the largest annual decline in the U.S. Energy Information Administration's records. The production decline resulted from reduced drilling activity related to low oil prices in 2020. More »

The United States exported more propane than distillate in 2020

In 2020, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Petroleum Supply Monthly, U.S. exports of propane reached record levels, increasing 13% and surpassing distillate fuel oil as the country's top petroleum product export. U.S. exports of distillate fuel oil fell to its lowest level since 2016. More »

Cold weather brings near record-high natural gas spot prices

Natural gas spot prices at several trading hubs approached their record highs briefly during the week of February 14 amid significantly colder-than-normal weather that affected most of the Lower 48 states. The cold weather led to natural gas supply and demand imbalances. Natural gas production declined because of freeze-offs (temporary interruptions in production caused by cold weather) amid high demand for heating and power. At the benchmark Henry Hub, natural gas prices reached $23.86 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on February 17, the highest real (inflation-adjusted) price since an Arctic blast on February 25, 2003. Henry Hub prices averaged $5.49/MMBtu in February, the highest monthly average since February 2014. More »

Texas and Florida had large small-scale solar capacity increases in 2020

TAs of December 2020, the states with the most small-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity were California (10.6 gigawatts (GW)), New Jersey (1.9 GW), and Massachusetts (1.8 GW). Of the 4.5 GW of small-scale solar capacity added in the United States in 2020, California accounted for 31%, the largest share by far. Although Texas and Florida have less total small-scale solar capacity than states such as California or New Jersey, capacity has grown rapidly in these states in recent years. In 2020, Texas added 422 megawatts (MW) of small-scale solar, and Florida added 282 MW. State incentives, strong solar resources, and policy changes are largely driving these gains. More »

The United States installed more wind turbine capacity in 2020 than in any other year

In both 2019 and 2020, project developers in the United States installed more wind power capacity than any other generating technology. According to data recently published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory, annual wind turbine capacity additions in the United States set a record in 2020, totaling 14.2 gigawatts (GW) and surpassing the previous record of 13.2 GW added in 2012. After this record year for wind turbine capacity additions, total wind turbine capacity in the United States is now 118 GW. More »

Annual U.S. natural gas production decreased by 1% in 2020

U.S. natural gas production—as measured by gross withdrawals—averaged 111.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2020, down 0.9 billion Bcf/d from 2019 as result of a decline in drilling activity related to low natural gas and oil prices in 2020. More »

Cold weather led to refinery shutdowns in U.S. Gulf Coast region

The cold snap that affected much of the central part of the country in mid-February disrupted energy systems, particularly in and around Texas. In the U.S. Gulf Coast, where the petroleum infrastructure has rarely operated in sub-zero temperatures, several refineries fully or partially shut down, leading to the largest reduction in Gulf Coast refinery operations in several years. More »