On December 10, 2019, Southern California Gas Company’s (SoCalGas) working natural gas inventory totaled 74.4 billion cubic feet (Bcf), nearly equal to the year-ago stock level and 9% higher than it was in 2017. Demand for natural gas in Southern California often peaks in December, when average temperatures in the region are typically at their […]
Category: Today in Energy
EIA analysis explores India’s projected energy consumption
In the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) International Energy Outlook 2019 (IEO2019), India has the fastest growing rate of energy consumption globally through 2050. By 2050, EIA projects in the IEO2019 Reference case that India will consume more energy than the United States by the mid-2040s, and its consumption will remain second only to China […]
U.S. coal production employment has fallen 42% since 2011
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Annual Coal Report shows that coal mining employment has declined in the past decade as coal demand has decreased. Most U.S. coal is consumed in the electric power sector and has faced increased competition from electricity generation from natural gas and renewable technologies. U.S. coal mining employment fell from […]
Auction prices for regional carbon dioxide allowances have increased since the 2017 low
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is the first mandatory market-based program in the United States intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. RGGI was formed as a cooperative effort among 10 northeastern states to cap and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the participating states’ power sectors. RGGI CO2 emission allowances are available to affected […]
U.S. onshore wind capacity exceeds 100 gigawatts
Cumulative U.S. installed onshore wind capacity exceeded 100 gigawatts (GW) on a nameplate capacity basis as of the end of September 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. More than half of that amount has been installed since the beginning of 2012. The oldest wind turbines still operating […]
Natural gas venting and flaring increased in North Dakota and Texas in 2018
The volume of U.S. natural gas that was reported as vented and flared reached its highest average annual level of 1.28 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2018, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Natural Gas Annual, which contains updated data about vented and flared natural gas. In 2018, the percentage of […]
U.S. petroleum exports exceed imports in September
In September 2019, the United States exported 89,000 barrels per day (b/d) more petroleum (crude oil and petroleum products) than it imported, the first month this has happened since monthly records began in 1973. A decade ago, the United States was importing 10 million b/d more petroleum than it was exporting. Long-running changes in U.S. […]
EIA updates geologic maps of the Delaware Basin’s Bone Spring formation
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released new maps and geologic information for the Bone Spring play in the Delaware Basin, which spans from southeastern New Mexico to western Texas. The updated information includes formation geology, deposition history, and regional tectonic features. The Delaware Basin is in the western part of the larger Permian […]
U.S. coal plant retirements linked to plants with higher operating costs
Since peaking at nearly 318 gigawatts (GW) in 2011, U.S. coal-fired electric generating capacity declined to 257 GW in 2017 after several coal power plants retired. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) undertook a study with Sargent & Lundy to improve modeling for the Annual Energy Outlook (AEO). The results show the relationship between plant […]
Early November cold weather prompts fuel switching in PJM and MISO
A historic November cold snap sent temperatures below freezing in 75% of the Lower 48 states. Because of this cold snap, the price of natural gas increased from an average of less than $2.00 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in October to a mid-November high of $5.11/MMBtu at the Tetco M3 hub, located in […]
