The weekly reports on natural gas storage came out today, and they show industrial production’s nosedive having a huge effect. Natural gas storage shot up compared to the historical average from only 1.2% above average last week to (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘US’
Natural Gas Storage Skyrockets, Prices to Test Recent Lows
Thursday, February 19th, 2009California doubles solar in 2008
Sunday, February 1st, 2009
The good news in 2008 regarding US wind was matched by its renewable sister industry, solar. California is the leading state in solar deployment and it doubled capacity last year. While numbers have not yet emerged from other states, it looks to be a banner year for the industry nationwide. (more…)
Russian oil decline accelerates & other supply concerns
Thursday, January 8th, 2009
With the price of oil pretty low below $45 per barrel and global demand falling, it seems to be a silly time to bring up supply worries. But recent numbers on Russian oil production and some other major non-OPEC producers show we need to keep our eye on this biggest source of world energy. (more…)
October EIA data point to rapid fall in US emissions
Saturday, December 20th, 2008
The preliminary EIA estimates for US electricity use in October point to even deeper carbon dioxide emission reduction than I reported last week. The data are presented in their Electric Power Flash. Although the data will be refined in the weeks ahead, these estimates have big implications on our fossil fuel consumption and thus our greenhouse gas emissions. (more…)
Electricity Use Falls a Huge 5% in September
Monday, December 15th, 2008I wrote a few months back how amazingly resilient natural gas inventories were in September despite the hurricane outages. The EIA just published an explanation in their electric power monthly data for the month. Electricity consumption fell more than 5% in September from 2007, sending natural gas demand for electricity down a staggering 15.5%! Demand for coal fell 3% and oil 19%, while hydroelectric generation (more…)
EIA: September Oil Demand Lowest in 12 Years
Friday, December 12th, 2008
The US Energy Information Agency recently released data that our country’s implied oil demand was at its lowest point since 1996 this past September. The total was 2.6 million barrels per day (Mbd) below last year’s level, a drop of more than 10%! While some of September’s reduction is clearly attributable to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, they also signify an intense (more…)
A Climate Partner to the South: Mexico Takes a Stand
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
Mexico’s Environmental Secretary Juan Rafael Elvira became an environmental hero today. He announced Mexico’s commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050 through a sustainable energy transition to include massive integration of solar, wind and other clean technologies. This crucial development shows policymakers in the US that we have a strong partner for climate change mitigation to the South. (more…)
EIA predicts first global oil demand drop in a quarter century
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
The Short Term Energy Outlook released today by the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) is yet another dramatic energy document for 2008. Not only do they project further stagnation for coal and natural gas demand in 2008, but they deepen this year’s expected fall in oil consumption from 5.4% to 5.8% below 2007 levels. In a big turnaround from previous reports, the EIA projects global oil demand will actually (more…)
Solar Price Falling Slowly, Natural Gas Continues Slide
Thursday, December 4th, 2008Over at solarbuzz.com, they post module prices on a monthly basis. And while the prices of fossil fuels have fallen dramatically over the past few months, the tough economy has yet to dramatically lower solar prices. For December, US prices from last month are unchanged and prices in Europe fell less than 1%. When will prices fall significantly due to supply catching up with demand?
Solar prices have fallen dramatically over the past few decades, but they have actually increased since late 2004. US prices currently sit almost (more…)
A Banner Year for US Climate Mitigation: Emissions Poised to Drop Sharply
Thursday, November 13th, 2008
Based on yesterday’s Short-Term Energy Outlook by the US Energy Information Agency (EIA), carbon dioxide pollution is poised to fall ~2.5% this year. Rapid growth in wind and solar power, massive efficiency, and lower demand for fossil fuels has sent US emission levels down to a level not seen since the 1990s.
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