The latest issue of the U.S. Energy Information’s (EIA) “Monthly Energy Review ” (with data through June 30, 2017) reveals that domestic production and use of renewable energy sources (wind, solar, biofuels, biomass, geothermal, hydropower) continued to show strong growth during the first half of the year as the consumption of both nuclear power and…
For the first time wind and solar exceed 10% of U.S. electricity generation
According to new March data from U.S.Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Electric Power Monthly, electricity generation from wind and solar (including utility-scale plants and small-scale systems) have exceeded 10% of total electricity generation for the first time, in the United States. Electricity generation from both of these energy sources has grown with increases in wind and solar-generating capacity.…
EIA releases new U.S. short-term energy forecast
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released its February Short-term Energy Outlook (STEO), which provides a forecast on what is expected in gasoline, coal, natural gas, and renewables trends this year. For natural gas, the EIA has predicted: “U.S. natural gas production is expected to increase during 2017, due in part to higher natural…
EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook projects to 2050
EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook provides modeled projections of domestic energy markets through 2050. With strong domestic production and relatively flat demand, the United States becomes a net energy exporter over the projection period in most cases.
U.S. renewables set new records during first half of 2016
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest “Electric Power Monthly” report, with data for the first six months of 2016, net U.S. electrical generation from non-hydro utility-scale renewables (including as wind and solar) increased by 17.0% compared to the first half of 2015. Combined, generation from all utility-scale renewable sources increased by 14.5% in January…
Total U.S. electricity sales projected to grow slowly as electricity intensity declines
In 2015, 3.7-trillion kWh were sold, and total electricity sales are projected to rise 0.7% annually through the projection period.
Higher renewable capacity additions in Annual Energy Outlook 2016 reflect policy changes and cost reductions
Annual Energy Outlook says the PTC, as it relates to the generation of electricity from wind plants, provides a 2.3 cent per kilowatthour (kWh) tax credit for the first 10 years of production.
EIA: wind most cost-effective option for Clean Power Plan compliance
Editor’s Note: AWEA recently released its report on the findings of EIA’s May 2015 “Analysis of the Impacts of the Clean Power Plan.” The introduction is presented here, interpreting what the analysis means for the future of the wind industry in the U.S. The Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) analysis of the Clean Power Plan (CPP) represents…
Non-hydro renewable electricity grows 11% in 2014, with wind up by 8.3%
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)’s latest “Electric Power Monthly” report, with data through the end of 2014, net electrical generation from non-hydro renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, solar, wind) increased by 10.9% over the previous year. The contribution to net electrical generation by just solar more than doubled (102.8%), while wind…
Wind generation seasonal patterns vary across the U.S., says EIA
Wind -plant generation performance varies throughout the year as a result of highly seasonal wind patterns. Nationally, wind-plant performance tends to be highest during the spring and lowest during the mid- to late summer, while performance during the winter (November through February) is around the annual median. However, this pattern can vary considerably across regions,…
Why wind and natural gas can produce the lowest-cost power
A writer in California recently complained of high power costs and that they were too infrequently mentioned in power industry discussions. He is right. Everything has a cost and value, and it’s skimmed over too often. The most insightful and respected economist of our era, Milton Friedman, often asked after hearing suggestions for action on…
Wind crosses 5% threshold as RE provides 14% of U.S. generation
According to the latest issue of EIA’s “Electric Power Monthly” (with data through April 30, 2014 – see Table ES1.B), renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) provided 14.05% of net electrical generation for the first four months of 2014. Further, for each of those months, non-hydro renewables provided more electricity than did…
Domestic production satisfies 84% of total U.S. energy demand in 2013
Total U.S. energy production reached 81.7 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) in 2013, enough to satisfy 84% of total U.S. energy demand, which totaled 97.5 quads. Natural gas was the largest domestically produced energy resource for the third year in a row and, together with the other fossil fuels (coal, crude oil, and hydrocarbon gas…
How Government policies affect long term RE growth
A recent U.S. Energy Information Administration “Today in Energy” brief looks at how government policies, price, and other factors could affect long-term growth in U.S. renewable electricity generation. “Renewable electricity generation in the United States is projected to grow by 69% from 2012 to 2040 in the Annual Energy Outlook 2014 (AEO2014) Reference case, including…
What if there were no sunset to the PTC, and other thoughts
This article, from the Energy Information Agency, is written by Erin Boedecker, Kelly Perl, John Maples, and Gwen Bredehoeft Two alternative cases are discussed in this section to provide insight into the sensitivity of the Reference case to scenarios, in which existing tax credits that have sunset dates are assumed not to sunset (No Sunset…
High cost oil fired generation creates potential for shift in Hawaiian electric sources
This article comes from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Timothy Shear is its principal contributor. As an island chain lacking fossil fuels, Hawaii must import nearly all of its energy, including relatively expensive petroleum that fuels more than 70% of its electricity generation. For the United States as a whole, oil powers less than 1% of its…
Many newer power plants have cooling systems that reuse water
U.S. electric generating plants have moved toward cooling systems that reuse water, mainly because of environmental standards that seek to limit excess heat from the water that can damage fish and other wildlife (thermal discharge) and to limit damage to organisms trapped when water is withdrawn from a source (called impingement). Many types of power…
EIA: Variability in electricity demand highlights roles for electricity storage
The availability of significant storage capacity could help to decouple electricity supply needs from variable electricity demand. However, based on this analysis of PJM Interconnection hourly demand data from August 2012 to July 2013, a large amount of storage capacity would be required to reduce the variability in electricity supply needs over different time periods.…
90+ orgs ask EIA to re-evaluate method used for RE forecasts
In a letter to EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski, nearly 100 organizations and businesses urged the U.S. Energy Information Administration to reconsider the method used in developing its renewable energy forecasts. The letter expressed concerned that “EIA’s estimates in past issues of the Annual Energy Outlook for future electrical generation from renewable energy sources in the…
EIA: 12,620 MW of wind power came online by in 2012
This article, from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Electric Generator Report (Form EIA-860) and U.S. Energy Information Administration, provides a monthly Update to the Annual Electric Generator Report (Form EIA-860M). The agency says the data are preliminary. About 40% of the total 2012 wind capacity additions (12,620 MW) came online in December, just before…