New York's Indian Point nuclear power plant closes after 59 years of operation

The Indian Point Energy Center (Indian Point) permanently stopped generating electricity on April 30, 2021, when it retired its last operating nuclear reactor, Unit 3, earlier than originally planned. The Indian Point nuclear power plant began operations in 1962 and produced over 565 terawatthours (TWh) of electricity in the 59 years it was open. The Unit 3 retirement removes almost 1,040 megawatts (MW) of nuclear generating capacity from New York State, leaving about 3,200 MW of remaining nuclear capacity at three plants in upstate New York. More »

Increased air travel is beginning to increase U.S. jet fuel consumption

In recent weeks, the number of air travel passengers has increased in the United States, which may indicate a corresponding near-term increase in jet fuel demand. Jet fuel demand has been at historic lows since April 2020. According to EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR), the four-week average consumption of jet fuel from April 9, 2021, through the most recent data (as of April 23, 2021) was more than 1.2 million barrels per day (b/d). This level of consumption was nearly 200,000 b/d higher than the four-week average that ended on March 26, 2021. To calculate jet fuel consumption, we use product supplied as a proxy for consumption. More »

EIA expects commercial energy use to grow more slowly than floorspace

In our Annual Energy Outlook 2021 (AEO2021), EIA projects that commercial floorspace will grow significantly over the next 30 years in the United States; however, energy use grows at a much slower pace. We assume wider adoption of commercial building sensors and controls over time and other factors, including energy efficiency gains and warmer weather, will all contribute to declines in commercial energy consumption to meet heating, ventilation, and lighting needs. Other commercial energy uses will increase. We project an 8% decline in the energy intensity of commercial buildings by 2050 (a measure of energy consumed per square foot of floorspace). Commercial floorspace grows by 33%, and total commercial energy use grows by 22% between 2020 and 2050. More »

U.S. energy imports declined in 2020, while exports remained largely unchanged

Energy exports from the United States exceeded imports by 3.4 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) in 2020, the largest margin on record, according to EIA's Monthly Energy Review. U.S. energy exports totaled 23.4 quads, nearly equaling the record high set in 2019, and energy imports fell 13% to 20.0 quads, the lowest level since 1992. The United States exported more energy than it imported for the second consecutive year. More »

Oil production in Alaska reaches lowest level in more than 40 years

Crude oil production in Alaska averaged 448,000 barrels per day (b/d) in 2020, the lowest level of production since 1976. Last year's production was over 75% less than the state's peak production of more than 2 million b/d in 1988. Production declined in 28 of the 32 years since Alaska's oil production peak as the state's oil fields have matured. The 4% decrease in annual oil production in Alaska in 2020 was part of a larger decline in U.S. oil production. More »

U.S. exploration and production companies are issuing new debt and equity

Based on all announced corporate press releases, the amount of debt and equity issued among publicly traded independent U.S. exploration and production (E&P) companies totaled $4.4 billion in March 2021, the most since August 2020. EIA analyzed and compiled the amounts via Evaluate Energy, a data service that tracks financial information for all publicly traded oil companies. Since September 2020, the amount of issued debt and equity has increased from the previous month in all but one month. More »

Planned refinery outages unlikely to affect U.S. transportation fuel supplies

According to EIA analysis, planned refinery outages during the second quarter of 2021 are unlikely to cause a significant shortfall in the supply of petroleum products in the United States, particularly in transportation fuels including gasoline, jet fuel, and distillate fuel. Despite the severe winter storm in mid-February and related unplanned outages in the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions, adequate inventory levels and lower-than-average demand will enable refineries to meet supply requirements despite planned outages for maintenance in the second quarter of 2021. More »

Texas likely to add record utility-scale solar capacity in the next two years

Texas, already the U.S. state with the most wind energy capacity, is catching up to California in utility-scale solar capacity. California currently has the most installed utility-scale solar capacity of any state. According to survey reports on EIA's Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory, Texas will add 10 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale solar capacity by the end of 2022, compared with 3.2 GW in California. One-third of the utility-scale solar capacity planned to come online in the United States in the next two years (30 GW) will be in Texas. More »

EIA expects U.S. natural gas consumption to continue decreasing in 2021 and 2022

EIA's April Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) forecasts decreased total U.S. natural gas consumption in 2021 and 2022 following a decline in 2020. Consumption in 2020 was 1.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) lower than the all-time high of 85.1 Bcf/d set in 2019. Total consumption declined as a result of the economic slowdown associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and lower heating demand amid milder temperatures. Although we expect natural gas consumption to continue to fall in 2021 and 2022, changes in sector-level natural gas consumption show different trends than in 2020. More »

Six subsectors account for nearly 90% of manufacturing energy consumption

In 2018, the U.S. manufacturing sector consumed 19.4 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy, according to EIA's latest Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS). In 2018, six energy-intensive subsectors—chemicals, petroleum and coal products, paper, primary metals, food, and nonmetallic mineral products—consumed 16.9 quadrillion Btu, or 87% of the total energy consumed in the manufacturing sector. More »

Last winter saw larger-than-average U.S. natural gas withdrawals from storage

Significantly colder-than-normal temperatures in the Lower 48 states in late January through mid-February resulted in increased heating demand for natural gas in the United States, despite an otherwise warmer-than-normal winter. As a result, the winter had larger-than-average winter natural gas withdrawals. Before the cold snap, winter temperatures had been relatively mild, but a combination of increased heating demand, record liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipeline exports, and decreased natural gas production contributed to the withdrawal activity during February. More »

Newer-technology natural gas-fired generators are utilized more than older units in PJM

The rapid development of shale gas resources in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia has contributed to sustained low natural gas prices and encouraged the construction of natural gas-fired power plants. About one-third of the new natural gas-fired generating capacity built in the United States since 2010 is located in PJM Interconnection (PJM), the grid operator for all or parts of 13 states in the mid-Atlantic region, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. In 2020, the utilization rate, called capacity factor, of natural gas-fired combined-cycle (NGCC) units built from 2010 to 2020 in PJM was 71%, which was higher than that of older units in the region. More »

Gulf of Mexico crude oil production will increase with new projects in 2021 and 2022

EIA forecasts U.S. crude oil production in the U.S. Federal Gulf of Mexico (GOM) to increase in the next two years, according to the latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). By the end of 2022, 13 new projects could account for about 12% of total GOM crude oil production, or about 200,000 barrels per day (b/d). More »

More electricity is generated in Georgia from biomass than in any state except California

In 2020, Georgia generated 5.8 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity from biomass, or about 10% of the nation's total, the second most of any state according to EIA's Electric Power Monthly. Almost 5% of Georgia's in-state electricity generation in 2020 came from biomass, mostly wood and wood-derived fuels, a share that ranked sixth in the nation. Biomass accounted for nearly half of Georgia's total renewable electricity generation in 2020. More »

U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions declined by 11% in 2020

Based on data in EIA's Monthly Energy Review, energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions decreased by 11% in the United States in 2020 primarily because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions. U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions fell in every end-use sector for the first time since 2012. More »

More gasoline expected to be consumed this summer than last, but not more than in 2019

In EIA's April Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we expect vaccinations and fiscal stimulus to support continuing economic recovery and drive demand growth for petroleum products in the United States. We also expect gasoline and distillate fuel consumption to increase from last summer (April through September) but remain less than in 2019. More »

Mixed water supply conditions expected to affect hydropower outlook in Pacific Northwest

On April 1, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest River Forecast Center (NWRFC) released its latest water supply forecast for the 2021 water year, which runs through September. The forecast shows near-average water supply in the northern half of the Columbia River Basin and below-average supply in the southern half. Abnormal to severe drought, particularly in Oregon, affected some regions in the southern half of the Columbia River Basin. Overall, EIA expects the forecast of near-to-below normal water supply across the region to decrease the electricity generated from hydropower this summer. More »

Both U.S. imports and exports of several transportation fuels fell in 2020

Global responses to the COVID-19 pandemic substantially reduced trade of many petroleum products to and from the United States during the first half of 2020. Exports of selected petroleum products mainly consumed as transportation fuels—distillate fuel oil, motor gasoline, and jet fuel—collectively declined by 14%, or 344,000 barrels per day (b/d), in 2020. U.S. imports of those fuels collectively declined by 18%, or 211,000 b/d, in 2020. These three fuels accounted for 24% of total U.S. petroleum exports (crude oil and petroleum products) and 12% of total U.S. petroleum imports in 2020, according to EIA's Petroleum Supply Monthly. More »

U.S residential propane prices increased 30% during the winter heating season

According to the Heating Oil and Propane Update, the average residential price of propane in the United States averaged $2.30 per gallon (gal) as of March 29, which was nearly 43 cents/gal higher than at the same time last year. U.S. average residential propane prices increased by more than 52 cents/gal, or 30%, during the 2020–2021 heating season, which began October 1 and ended March 31. The increase in prices can be attributed primarily to higher crude oil prices, seasonal withdrawals from propane inventory, and increased global demand for U.S. propane exports. This price change was the largest within-season increase in residential propane prices since the 2013–2014 season when propane markets tightened because of a polar vortex and low inventories. More »

U.S. energy consumption fell by a record 7% in 2020

In 2020, total U.S. energy consumption fell to 93 quadrillion British thermal units (quads), down 7% from 2019, according to EIA's Monthly Energy Review. Last year marked the largest annual decrease in U.S. energy consumption in both percentage and absolute terms in our consumption data series that dates back to 1949. Much of the 2020 decrease in energy use is attributable to economic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic that began in the United States during the spring of 2020. More »

U.S. residential heating oil prices averaged 16% lower than last winter but ended higher

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Heating Oil and Propane Update (HOPU), the price of residential heating oil averaged $2.86/gal in the United States as of March 29, which is 44 cents/gal higher than at the same time last year. U.S. average residential heating oil prices increased by more than 73 cents per gallon (gal), or 35%, during the 2020–2021 heating season (October 1–March 31). On average, prices were almost 15% lower than last season. Although the increase in residential heating oil prices during the season was the largest on a percentage basis since the 2007–2008 season, prices were almost 15% lower than last season on average. The recent increase in prices is primarily a result of higher crude oil prices and lower distillate inventory levels. More »

State gasoline taxes average about 30 cents per gallon

In the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) latest update of its data on state gasoline and diesel fuel taxes, the simple average of taxes and fees on gasoline levied by the states and the District of Columbia at the beginning of 2021 was 30 cents per gallon (¢/gal). These taxes and fees range from a low of 8.95¢/gal in Alaska to a high of 58.7¢/gal in Pennsylvania. Gasoline buyers in the United States pay these taxes in addition to the federal tax of 18.4¢/gal, which has remained unchanged since 1993. More »