Nearly a quarter of the operating U.S. coal-fired fleet scheduled to retire by 2029
Due to continued competition from natural gas and renewable resources, 23% of the 200,568 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired capacity currently operating in the United States has reported plans to retire by the end of 2029, according to our Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory.
U.S. electric-generating capacity for combined-cycle natural gas turbines is growing
Eight new natural gas-fired combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants have come online or will come online in the United States this year. These new plants will add 7,775 megawatts (MW) of electric-generating capacity to the U.S. electric grid, based on our estimates and data from our latest Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. These eight projects […]
Average U.S. construction costs drop for solar, rise for wind and natural gas generators
Construction costs for solar photovoltaic systems continued to decrease in the United States in 2020; the capacity-weighted average fell 8% compared with 2019, according to the latest data in our Annual Electric Generator Report on newly constructed utility-scale electric generators. By contrast, average construction costs for both wind turbines and natural gas-fired generators increased compared […]
High natural gas production and storage injections in September drove U.S. prices down
Injections into U.S. working natural gas storage in the Lower 48 states during the 2022 injection season (April through October) have brought storage levels back near historical averages. The overall increase in natural gas storage was driven primarily by five consecutive triple-digit increases in September and early October. U.S. natural gas injections totaled 427 billion […]
Norway remains a significant natural gas supplier to the European Union
Norway is among the top 10 natural gas-producing nations in the world and has always been an important source of natural gas to the European Union (EU). Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine at the end of February 2022 resulted in significant declines in natural gas imports to the EU, particularly starting in June 2022, increasing […]
In 2021 U.S. natural gas-fired power generation declined for the first time in four years
According to our recently released Natural Gas Annual, natural gas consumption in all sectors in the United States was effectively flat between 2020 and 2021, down by only 0.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). U.S. natural gas consumption reached a record 85.3 Bcf/d in 2019 and has declined annually since then. Reduced economic activity […]
Product Highlight: EIA’s Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update
Each Monday, we publish our Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update (GDFU), which tracks the latest retail prices of certain petroleum products. Readers can explore current trends in fuel prices as well as historical data. The GDFU provides U.S. average retail prices for regular-grade motor gasoline, dating back to August 1990, and on-highway diesel fuel prices, […]
U.S. coal-fired generation declining after brief rise last year
We expect 6% less U.S. coal-fired generation in 2022 than in 2021, according to our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). Although coal-fired generation declined each year between 2014 and 2020, it rose 16% in 2021 as a result of increased electricity demand and higher natural gas prices following the pandemic. Despite natural gas prices remaining […]
Decline in drilled but uncompleted wells may limit future crude oil production growth
According to our Drilling Productivity Report (DPR), more wells were completed than were drilled in the United States from July 2020 through September 2022 (the latest month for which data are available). As a result, the number of drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs) in the United States fell to 4,333 as of September 2022, the […]
As much as 15 million barrels of crude oil sold from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a notice of sale of as much as 15 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) on October 18, 2022, to help address the market supply disruption caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and to help lower energy costs. The sale was held […]