As U.S. households prepare for Thanksgiving and the holiday travel season, gasoline prices this year are similar to prices in recent years. As of Monday, November 25, regular retail gasoline prices averaged $2.58 per gallon (gal) nationwide, similar to the…
Month: November 2019
U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions rose in 2018 for the first year since 2014
Total U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2018 rose to 5.27 billion metric tons, 2.7% more than its 2017 level. The primary reasons for the increase were higher natural gas-related emissions resulting from more extreme summer and winter weather…
Puerto Rico electricity generation returned to pre-2017 hurricane levels one year later
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest annual Power Plant Operations Report, nearly a year had passed before net electricity generation in Puerto Rico approached levels similar to those in the months before Hurricanes Irma and Maria damaged…
Futures markets signal lower natural gas prices in most U.S. regions in early 2020
The current outlook for U.S. natural gas prices at several key regional hubs reflects market expectations for lower prices in January and February 2020. Two factors account for generally lower prices: lower natural gas futures prices at the U.S. benchmark…
EIA increases U.S. crude oil production forecast for 2019 and 2020
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) revises its U.S. crude oil production forecast in each monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) based mainly on two factors: updates to EIA’s published historical data and EIA’s crude oil price forecast. In the November…
Nearly half of U.S. geothermal power capacity came online in the 1980s
Geothermal energy has been used to generate electricity in the United States since the early 1960s. The United States has 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of operating geothermal capacity, about half of which came online in the 1980s. EIA expects three plants…
Brazil’s net metering policy leads to growth in solar distributed generation
Brazil’s growth in distributed generation from renewable resources-especially solar-has increased since it implemented net metering policies in 2012. As of mid-November 2019, owners have installed more than 135,000 renewable distributed generation systems in Brazil, totaling about 1.72 gigawatts (GW) of…
EIA’s Heating Oil and Propane Update shows lower prices so far this winter
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Heating Oil and Propane Update (HOPU), prices at the start of the 2019–2020 winter heating season (October 1 through March 31) were 10% lower for heating oil and 22% lower for propane…
U.S. natural gas production, consumption, and exports set new records in 2018
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Natural Gas Annual 2018 shows that the United States set new records in natural gas production, consumption, and exports in 2018. In 2018, dry natural gas production increased by 12%, reaching a record-high average…
EPA small refinery exemptions in the Renewable Fuel Standard explained
The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) mandates the amount of renewable fuels refineres must blend into the U.S. transportation fuel supply. As part of the RFS program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can grant annual waivers to some petroleum refineries,…
