Energize Weekly, April 18, 2018 U.S. crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico hit a record 1.65 million barrels a day in 2017—and 2018 and 2019 production is set surpass that, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). Gulf production hit that highest recorded annual level despite platform outages and pipeline problems in…
Energize Weekly, April 18, 2018 The installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays is growing in cities across the country—especially in sunny ones, according a survey by the non-profit Colorado Environmental Policy Center. “As of the end of 2017, 20 cities—representing just 0.1 percent of U.S. land area—accounted for over 4 percent of U.S. solar PV…
Energize Weekly, April 18, 2018 Wind farms across the country are getting a makeover as rising costs, declining production and the spur of tax credits is leading to the repowering of projects built as far back as the 1990s, according to federal data and market studies. A study by the federal National Renewable Energy Laboratory…
Energize Weekly, April 11, 2018 In the early hours of March 31, the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) set a new wind penetration record with 62 percent of the load being served by wind generation. Wind turbines accounted for 14.5 gigawatts (GW) of the 23.2 GW load for the regional transmission organization (RTO), which operates a…
Energize Weekly, April 11, 2018 Coal and natural gas are being hard pressed to compete as the comparative cost of wind, solar and battery storage continue to fall and in concert, can meet the power grid’s key needs, according to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) study. “Fossil fuel power is facing an unprecedented challenge…
Energize Weekly, April 11, 2018 Electricity supplies 21 percent of all the energy used in the U.S. and that share is projected to rise to about a third to half of all energy by 2050, according to an assessment by the non-profit Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). “The economic potential for electrification is compelling in…
Energize Weekly, April 4, 2018 The solar industry lost jobs in 2017—seeing a 3.8 percent decline equal to 9,800 positions—for the first time since employment statistics were tracked in 2010 by the non-profit The Solar Foundation, the group said in its annual Solar Jobs Census. The foundation saw a host of reasons for the decline,…
Energize Weekly, April 4, 2018 U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) quadrupled in 2017 compared to the previous year as global demand jumped 9.4 percent to 285 million metric tons a year, according to market analyses by the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) and Bloomberg New Energy Finance. After last year’s bump, the global…
Energize Weekly, April 4, 2018 Oil and gas activity in Texas posted growth for the sixth consecutive quarter in the first quarter of 2018 with prospects for continued expansion this year, according to the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank’s quarterly regional energy survey. The survey also found the average break-even point for drilling a new well…
Energize Weekly, March 28, 2018 More than 80 foreign solar cell and module manufactures and American companies using imported solar products are seeking exclusions from the Trump administration solar import tariff, according to filings with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The arguments made by the applicants, based on a review of the filings,…
Energize Weekly, March 28, 2018 Natural gas-fired electric generation fell a record 7.7 percent in 2017 compared with the previous year, and coal-fired electricity was down 2.5 percent, marking the first time in a decade both electricity sources declined—at the same time renewable electricity hit a record, according to the federal Energy Information Association (EIA).…
Energize Weekly, March 28, 2018 As wind and solar generation grow, so too have questions about their impact on the reliability and resiliency of the grid. However, a study of markets around world with high levels of renewables has identified keys to keep the systems up and running. The question of grid resiliency gained added…