Small-scale solar is changing hourly utility electricity demand in New England

An increase in electricity generation from small-scale, customer-sited photovoltaic (PV) solar in New England is changing the hourly pattern of metered electricity demand during the spring (March–May), which you can see in our Hourly Electric Grid Monitor. Small-scale solar PV are systems with less than 1 megawatt (MW) of generating capacity and are typically not metered by a utility (referred to as behind the meter). As a result of the increase in this type of solar generating capacity in New England, electricity demand on utilities was rapidly decreasing during the morning and rapidly increasing during the evening through the spring. More »

Extending investment tax credits through 2050 increases U.S. solar generation by 10%

Extending investment tax credits (ITC) and production tax credits (PTC) through 2050 for renewable electricity generation increases annual U.S. solar generation by 10%, according to our alternative policy analysis, Annual Energy Outlook 2022: Extended and Sunset Tax Credit Cases. Long-term availability of federal tax credits provides an incentive for more small-scale distributed generation in homes and commercial buildings as well as utility-scale electricity generation from renewable sources, especially solar photovoltaic (PV). More »

Battery systems on the U.S. power grid are increasingly used to respond to price

According to the early release of our Annual Electric Generator Report, the capacity of utility-scale battery storage more than tripled in the United States during 2021, from 1.4 gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2020 to 4.6 GW. The survey asked respondents how they use batteries, and respondents could cite more than one application for a system. Although battery systems have several common applications, more systems are increasingly used to store electricity when prices are low and discharge electricity when prices are high, a strategy known as price arbitrage. More »

U.S. uranium concentrate production in 2021 remained near all-time lows

By most measures, production of uranium concentrate (U3O8) remained at or near all-time lows in the United States during 2021, at 21,000 pounds, which is less than 1% of the post-2000 production high of 4.9 million pounds U3O8 in 2014. As domestic production has declined, an increasing amount of the uranium purchased for use in U.S. commercial nuclear power reactors has been from other countries. More »

The United States became the world's largest LNG exporter in the first half of 2022

The United States became the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter during the first half of 2022, according to data from CEDIGAZ. Compared with the second half of 2021, U.S. LNG exports increased by 12% in the first half of 2022, averaging 11.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). U.S. LNG exports continued to grow for three reasons—increased LNG export capacity, increased international natural gas and LNG prices, and increased global demand, particularly in Europe. More »

Public U.S. oil producers saw higher revenues and higher operational costs during Q1 2022

In the first quarter of 2022, 53 U.S. exploration and production companies reported both higher revenues and higher material and labor costs compared with the first quarter of 2021. More »

Energy use fell during 2020 in all U.S. states except Alaska

In 2020, energy consumption declined by a record 7.5% in the United States, mostly as a result of pandemic effects and relatively warmer weather. Data from our State Energy Data System (SEDS) show that declines in energy consumption varied significantly by state. The states that had the largest declines tended to have significantly less energy used in transportation. More »

U.S. refined coal production and consumption declines with the expiration of a tax credit

Refined coal production in the United States dropped to nearly zero during the first quarter of 2022 as refined coal consumers used their remaining small stockpiles. Refined coal is most commonly made by mixing proprietary additives to feedstock coal. At the end of 2021, the refined coal production tax credit (created by the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004) expired, which could be affecting refined coal production and consumption. More »

U.S. natural gas supply and demand balance shifts amid outage at Freeport LNG

A fire at Freeport LNG's natural gas liquefaction plant led to the full shutdown of the facility on June 8. The shutdown reduced U.S. export capacity by an estimated 2.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), and as a result, the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub natural gas spot price fell by $1.27 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) to $8.16/MMBtu on June 9. The Henry Hub price continued to decline through the end of June, ending the month at $6.54/MMBtu. More »

Second-quarter U.S. gasoline consumption has been less than during 2021

Based on weekly estimates in our Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR), less gasoline has been consumed in the United States during the second quarter of 2022 and early July than during the same period in 2021. Our latest Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM) confirms the trend, which shows that U.S. gasoline consumption (measured as product supplied) averaged 8.8 million barrels per day (b/d) this April, or 0.4% less than during April 2021. More »

EIA updated geologic maps of the hydrocarbon-rich Midland Basin Spraberry formation

We have updated our maps and geologic information for the Spraberry formation in the Midland Basin, which continues to be one of the most prolific areas for hydrocarbon production in the United States. The formation spans 16 counties in western Texas, which is the eastern part of the larger Permian Basin. In April 2022, daily average production from the Spraberry formation exceeded 1.3 million barrels of crude oil and 2.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas. We expect Spraberry production to continue to drive hydrocarbon production growth in the Permian Basin. More »

U.S. monthly average Henry Hub spot price nearly doubled in 12 months

During the past 12 months (July 2021–June 2022), the monthly average Henry Hub natural gas spot price, which is a U.S. benchmark, nearly doubled, according to data from Refinitiv Eikon. The price rose from $3.84 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in July 2021 to $7.70/MMBtu in June 2022. The average inflation-adjusted (real) monthly Henry Hub spot price reached a 12-month high of $8.17/MMBtu in May 2022, the highest price since November 2008. Prices have generally increased since mid-2021 because demand growth has outpaced domestic production growth, keeping inventory levels low. More »

Renewable identification number prices for ethanol and biomass-based diesel remain high

The prices of renewable identification number (RIN) credits—a compliance mechanism used for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—have remained high in 2022. So far this year, RINs generated by biomass-based diesel (biodiesel and renewable diesel) production, known as D4 RINs, peaked on April 28 at $1.91 per gallon (gal), and RINs generated by ethanol production (D6 RINs) peaked on June 7 at $1.68/gal, close to the high prices seen in 2021. More »

Over one-quarter of U.S. households use electricity as the only source of energy

In 2020, 26% of U.S. households used electricity as the only source of energy (32.25 million out of 123.53 million homes), according to our 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). Most U.S. homes use electricity and at least one other fuel, such as natural gas, fuel oil, propane, or wood. More »

Global trade in liquefied natural gas grew by 4.5% in 2021

An average of 49.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) was traded globally during 2021, an increase of 2.2 Bcf/d (4.5%) from 2020, according to The LNG Industry GIIGNL Annual Report 2022 by the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers (GIIGNL). New LNG export capacity, primarily in the United States, and rising global demand for natural gas drove continued growth in global LNG trade last year. More »

Fossil fuel sources accounted for 79% of U.S. consumption of primary energy in 2021

Fossil fuels—petroleum, natural gas, and coal—accounted for 79% of the 97 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) of primary energy consumption in the United States during 2021. About 21% of U.S. primary energy consumption in 2021 came from fuel sources other than fossil fuels, such as renewables and nuclear, according to data in our Monthly Energy Review. More »