Low gasoline demand in combination with the seasonal switch to winter-grade gasoline has made gasoline less profitable to produce, reducing the difference between gasoline blendstock and crude oil prices to multiyear lows in October 2023. The crack spread is the difference between the price of a wholesale petroleum product and the crude oil price, … [continued]
We forecast that the United States will generate 14% more electricity from solar energy than from hydroelectric facilities in 2024, according to our Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). Our forecast is driven by continued growth in new utility-scale and small-scale solar facilities. For the first time in September 2022, the United States had … [continued]
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the grid operator for most of the state, is increasingly curtailing solar- and wind-powered electricity generation as it balances supply and demand during the rapid growth of wind and solar power in California. Grid operators must balance supply and demand to maintain a stable electric system. … [continued]
We expect U.S. households that use natural gas and those that are located in the West (regardless of fuel type) — together accounting for more than half of all U.S. households — to spend less on heating this winter compared with last winter. U.S. homes that use heating oil will … [continued]
In our International Energy Outlook 2023 (IEO2023), we project that global energy-related CO2 emissions will increase by 2050 in a number of IEO2023 cases as global population growth and higher living standards push growth in energy consumption beyond advances in energy efficiency. In all IEO2023 cases, we expect global primary energy consumption … [continued]
On July 27, 2023, peak hourly electricity demand in the continental United States reached 741,815 megawatt-hours (MWh). This peak was the second highest since we began collecting this data in 2016, just under the all-time high of 742,704 MWh recorded on July 20, 2022. Weather is a large driver … [continued]
The average construction costs for solar photovoltaic systems, wind turbines, and natural gas-fired electricity generators all decreased in the United States in 2021 compared with 2020, according to our recently released data. Average construction costs fell by 18% from 2020 for natural gas-fired generators, by 5% for wind turbines, and by … [continued]
Weather events in the U.S. Northwest this past spring and summer led to lower water supply, prompting us to reduce our forecast of U.S. hydropower generation by 6% this year compared with last year. About one-half of the country’s hydropower is generated in the Northwest. Precipitation that accumulated in the … [continued]
According to the 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey, 67% of all housing units in the United States have vehicle parking within 20 feet of an electrical outlet. This is significant when planning for the transition to EVs, where at-home charging is important. The distance of 20 feet is within the … [continued]
We estimate that the United States added 6.4 gigawatts (GW) of small-scale solar capacity in 2022, the most ever in a single year. Small-scale solar—also called distributed solar or rooftop solar—refers to solar-power systems with 1 megawatt (MW) of capacity or less. Rooftop solar panels installed on homes make up … [continued]
