The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Electric Power Monthly now includes more information on usage factors for utility-scale storage generators as well as a monthly and an annual series on the total available capacity for several power plant technology types.…
Month: February 2020
Utility energy efficiency spending and savings declined in 2018
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) annual survey of more than 600 electric utilities and third-party program managers shows that total inflation-adjusted energy efficiency (EE) spending and electricity savings fell in 2018 as the cost of achieving savings increased in…
Wind has surpassed hydro as most-used renewable electricity generation source in U.S
In 2019, U.S. annual wind generation exceeded hydroelectric generation for the first time, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Electric Power Monthly. Wind is now the top renewable source of electricity generation in the country, a position previously held…
EIA forecasts natural gas inventories will reach record levels later this year
In the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) February Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), EIA forecasts that the Lower 48 states’ working natural gas in storage will end the 2019-20 winter heating season (November 1–March 31) at 1,935 billion cubic feet (Bcf),…
Hourly electricity consumption varies throughout the day and across seasons
The electricity consumed in a given period (often referred to as electricity load) varies throughout the year in somewhat predictable patterns. Total U.S. hourly electricity load is generally highest in the summer months when demand peaks in the afternoon as…
EIA projects U.S. energy intensity to continue declining, but at a slower rate
EIA’s recently released Annual Energy Outlook 2020 (AEO2020) projects that U.S. energy consumption will grow more slowly than gross domestic product (GDP) through 2050 as energy intensity continues its decades-long trend of decline through the AEO2020 forecast period. Energy intensity…
EIA expects natural gas production and exports to continue increasing in most scenarios
According to projections published in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Annual Energy Outlook 2020 (AEO2020), total dry natural gas production in the United States will continue to increase until 2050 in most of the AEO2020 cases, primarily to support…
U.S. crude oil production increases; imports remain strong to support refinery operations
United States refineries are some of the most complex in the world and can process a wide range of crude oil qualities. Although U.S crude oil production has grown significantly since 2009, having access to imports from oil producers around…
EIA revises global liquid fuels demand growth down because of the coronavirus
In the February 2020 update of its Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that global liquid fuels demand will average 101.7 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2020, 1.0 million b/d more than the 2019…
Natural gas prices fall to lowest level since 2016, the lowest February prices in 20 years
This winter, natural gas prices have been at their lowest levels in decades. On Monday, February 10, the near-month natural gas futures price at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) closed at $1.77 per million British thermal units (MMBtu). This…
