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The Year in Review

EIA’s top accomplishments of 2020.

 

EIA’s top accomplishments of 2020

For the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2020 was truly a year of notable accomplishments. Check out these highlights of EIA products and programs this year.

Addressed evolving market dynamics with timely, relevant products.

Delivered timely, relevant data and analysis to increase understanding of rapidly changing energy markets

As the world continues to react to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been delivering our core products, such as the Weekly Petroleum Status Report and the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report, on time. Our monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook, which has regularly been addressing the heightened uncertainty in energy markets as they have responded to economic changes related to COVID-19, continues to provide forecasts through the end of 2021.

In a series of Today in Energy articles, we explained how stakeholders can use EIA tools and products to understand evolving market conditions, and we explored the effects of the pandemic on specific fuels (such as natural gas and crude oil), on energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, and on different states and regions (such as New York and Florida).

We released Trends and Expectations Surrounding the Outlook for Energy Markets, which summarizes the unique challenges the COVID-19 pandemic presents for short- and long-term energy forecasts and projections, specifically the Annual Energy Outlook 2021. We also hosted three virtual workshops to help continue the discussion.

Produced weekly estimates of U.S. crude oil storage capacity utilization with the Weekly Petroleum Status Report to address uncertainty in market conditions.

Included weekly estimates of U.S. crude oil storage capacity utilization in the Weekly Petroleum Status Report

Beginning with the April 8 release of the Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR), we began including a weekly estimate of U.S. crude oil storage capacity utilization to address uncertainty in market conditions. We now report the most recent crude oil storage capacity estimates for the United States in total and for each of the five Petroleum Administration for Defense District (PADD) regions separately.

Provided energy information related to severe Gulf Coast storms and western U.S. wildfires.

Provided energy information related to severe Gulf Coast storms and western U.S. wildfires

Our Energy Disruptions map combines storm and fire-related geographic data from the National Hurricane Center and the National Weather Service with our map layers to provide status updates on energy-related infrastructure. Today in Energy articles highlighted other useful resources, including our U.S. Hourly Electric Grid Monitor and Nuclear Outages status page, and assessed Hurricane Laura’s effect on liquefied natural gas exports and crude oil production. We also covered the effects of storms Isaias, Laura, Sally, and Delta in our Natural Gas Weekly Update.

Expanded our analysis of battery storage and the U.S. electric grid.

Expanded our analysis of battery storage and the U.S. electric grid

Our new report, Battery Storage in the United States: An Update on Market Trends, explores trends in U.S. battery storage capacity additions and assesses the battery storage market conditions as of 2018. We hosted our inaugural Energy Storage Workshop, where we

  • Brought industry experts together to discuss short- and long-term challenges of energy storage in power markets
  • Gained insight into the energy storage industry’s data and analysis needs
  • Highlighted the data available in the new battery storage report

Explored the assumed future costs of renewable power generation technologies in the Annual Energy Outlook 2020.

Explored the assumed future costs of renewable power generation technologies in the Annual Energy Outlook 2020

Our Annual Energy Outlook 2020 (AEO2020) includes long-term projections of U.S. energy supply, demand, and prices as well as side cases with different assumptions about macroeconomic growth, world oil prices, and technological progress. This year, we added two new cases that explore the implications of varying the assumed future costs of renewable power generation technologies.

In January, EIA Administrator Dr. Linda Capuano spoke about the challenges and market trends facing the electricity sector. In March, we published an Issues in Focus article on the potential effects of alternative energy policies on the U.S. electric power sector through 2050.

Provided detailed analysis of Africa, Asia, and India in our International Energy Outlook 2020.

Provided detailed analysis of Africa, Asia, and India in our International Energy Outlook 2020

Our International Energy Outlook 2020 (IEO2020) capitalizes on the improved capabilities of our new International Electricity Market Model to analyze generating technology, fuel price, and infrastructure uncertainty in the electricity markets of Africa and Asia. Given the flexible model design, we developed sub-regional and sub-national versions of the model, which allowed us to better represent the limits geography imposes on electric power markets and resources across large continents such as Africa or across large and diverse countries such as India. EIA Administrator Dr. Linda Capuano presented findings from the IEO2020 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC, on October 14.

Expanded information on usage factors for utility-scale storage generators in the Electric Power Monthly.

Expanded information on usage factors for utility-scale storage generators in the Electric Power Monthly

Our Electric Power Monthly now includes more information on usage factors for utility-scale storage generators as well as a monthly and an annual series on the total available capacity for several power plant technology types. Previous tables contained monthly capacity factor data for 16 power plant technology types, but our new capacity factor tables include time-adjusted total capacity values by technology, which account for monthly additions and retirements of each technology type.

Released preliminary energy consumption data for commercial buildings and the manufacturing sector.

Released preliminary energy consumption data for commercial buildings and the manufacturing sector

The first estimates from the 2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) provide information about the U.S. commercial building stock. Users can access data on building size and activity, year of construction, geographic region, and more. The next release (in spring or summer of 2021) will include more detailed building characteristics.

In September, we released preliminary 2018 estimates from the Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), which provide totals of manufacturing sector energy consumption by fuel. MECS is the only source for estimates of energy-related characteristics, consumption, and expenditures for U.S. manufacturers, and it helps industry experts track changes and trends in the manufacturing sector. Additional updates will be available in early 2021.

Compiled new state-level biodiesel production and consumption estimates.

Compiled new state-level biodiesel production and consumption estimates

We added biodiesel production and consumption estimates by state to the State Energy Data System (SEDS), our comprehensive source for annual state energy statistics. Previously, we published national-level biodiesel data as well as state- and plant-level biodiesel plant production capacity. The new SEDS estimates include annual biodiesel production and consumption data by state for 2001 through 2018.

Redesigned International Energy Portal.

Redesigned our International Energy Portal

We redesigned our International Energy Portal to streamline navigation, simplify data presentation, and implement responsive design use. We based many of the redesign aspects on customer feedback from the previous beta release of the portal.

The redesign allows users to find data in fewer steps, customize data tables, tailor visualizations to user needs, and export data easily.