New pumped-storage capacity in China is helping to integrate growing wind and solar power

China is building pumped-storage hydropower facilities to increase the flexibility of the power grid and accommodate growing wind and solar power. As of May 2023, China had 50 gigawatts (GW) of operational pumped-storage capacity, 30% of global capacity and more than any other country. More »

Developers added 16.8 GW of U.S. utility-scale generating capacity in first-half 2023

In the first half of 2023, developers added 16.8 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale electric generating capacity to the U.S. power grid, according to our latest inventory of electric generators. Developers plan to bring an additional 35.2 GW of capacity online in the second half of the year. More »

Midwest homes, notably older homes, consume more natural gas than most other U.S. homes

Homes in the Midwest consumed 34% more natural gas than the national average—76.1 million British thermal units (MMBtu) per household compared with 56.6 MMBtu nationally—according to our 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). The newest midwestern homes, those built since 2010, consumed an average of 48.9 MMBtu of natural gas for space heating, and homes built before 1950 consumed an average of 74.8 MMBtu. More »

Inflation-adjusted U.S. energy spending increased by 25% in 2021

In 2021, the amount U.S. consumers spent on energy (energy expenditures) grew to over $1.3 trillion when adjusted for inflation, a 25% increase from 2020, according to our State Energy Data System (SEDS). Rising petroleum consumption in 2021 following 2020 lows induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and higher average energy prices contributed to the increase in expenditures. More »

Qatar natural gas production and exports stable as country eyes expansion

In 2021, Qatar was the world’s sixth-largest dry natural gas producer, the second-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, and the third-largest holder of natural gas reserves, according to the data in our recently updated Country Analysis Brief: Qatar. More »

First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in operation

A new reactor at Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear power plant is now in commercial operation, according to an announcement from Georgia Power, one of the plant’s owners. It is the first new nuclear reactor to start up in the United States since the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar 2 was commissioned in 2016. More »