U.S. biodiesel production capacity declined slightly in 2019

According to the most recent data, annual U.S. biodiesel production capacity decreased by 2%, or 49 million gallons, between January 2019 and January 2020. As of January 2020, biodiesel production capacity in the United States totaled 2.5 billion gallons (gal) per year, or 164,000 barrels per day (b/d), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) annual U.S. Biodiesel Plant Production Capacity report, released on October 23, 2020. More »

Natural gas prices and renewable capital costs affect the generation mix in China

In the International Energy Outlook 2020 (IEO2020), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that electricity generation in Asia will more than double between 2019 and 2050. EIA analyzed the impacts of changing the price of natural gas and the capital costs associated with adding renewable energy power plants on the future electricity generation mix in China and other countries in Asia that are not part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). EIA projects that coal and natural gas will generally remain the primary fuels used for electricity generation. However, the lower renewable cost cases project that renewables, which include wind, solar, and hydroelectric (hydro) technologies, will become significant sources of generation in China and other non-OECD countries in Asia by 2050. EIA published the results of this analysis in an accompanying Issues in Focus article, and the results reflect the Comparative Reference case along with eight alternative cases. More »

Crude oil tanker rates are likely to remain low until global petroleum demand increases

In March and April 2020, reduced demand for crude oil and petroleum products in response to COVID-19 mitigation efforts led to a sharp increase in global crude oil inventories. As onshore inventories increased, market participants turned to using oil tankers to store oil, which is typically more expensive than onshore storage. More »

Residential heating oil prices this winter are 28% lower than last winter

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Heating Oil and Propane Update (HOPU), prices during the first two weeks of the current winter heating season (October 1 through March 31) were 28% lower for heating oil than during the 2019–2020 winter. This decrease is the largest price decrease between the start of two seasons since October 2015. The decrease in prices can be attributed to crude oil prices that are lower than last year and distillate inventories that are currently higher than the previous five-year (2015–2019) average. More »

Residential propane prices so far this winter are similar to last winter's prices

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Heating Oil and Propane Update (HOPU), propane prices during the first two weeks of the current winter heating season (October 1 through March 31) were 4% lower than during the same time last winter. Lower residential propane prices are the result of inventories that are near the high-end of the five-year (2015–2019) average and a decrease in crude oil prices since last year at this time. More »

Utility-scale battery storage costs decreased nearly 70% between 2015 and 2018

The average energy capacity cost of utility-scale battery storage in the United States has rapidly decreased from $2,152 per kilowatthour (kWh) in 2015 to $625/kWh in 2018. Battery storage systems store electricity produced by generators or pulled directly from the electric power grid and redistribute the power later as needed. At the end of 2018, the United States had 869 megawatts (MW) of installed battery power capacity (the maximum amount of power a battery can provide at a given moment) and 1,236 megawatthours (MWh) of battery energy capacity (the total amount of energy that can be stored by a battery). More »