Today in Energy
Gasoline prices ahead of Memorial Day are higher than 2016, but second lowest since 2009
Gasoline prices heading into Memorial Day weekend average $2.40 per gallon (gal) nationally, up from last year's price of $2.30/gal. Despite the year-over-year increase, 2017 marks the second-lowest price ahead of the Memorial Day weekend since 2009, when the national average price of retail regular gasoline was $2.31/gal. Relatively low crude oil spot prices, weaker year-over-year gasoline demand, and high gasoline inventories have contributed to relatively low gasoline prices.
Tags: Brent, gasoline, Gulf Coast, liquid fuels, oil/petroleum, prices, West Coast
Energy storage and renewables beyond wind, hydro, solar make up 4% of U.S. power capacity
Beyond the main sources of electricity generation capacity in the United States that have recently been discussed in a series of Today in Energy articles, additional amounts of utility-scale capacity are provided by technologies such as hydroelectric pumped storage, batteries, flywheels, and renewable fuels other than hydro, wind, and solar. These sources collectively accounted for 4% of the electricity generating capacity in the United States in 2016.
Tags: biomass, electricity, generation, geothermal, hydroelectric, renewables, storage
Crossover utility vehicles blur distinction between passenger cars and light trucks
Note: Conventional-fueled vehicles only: gasoline, diesel, mild hybrids.
Light-duty vehicles are generally classified into two groups: passenger cars and light trucks. However, crossover utility vehicles (CUVs)—which appear similar to sport utility vehicles but share design attributes with passenger cars—are blurring the distinction between the two classifications.
Tags: transportation, vehicles
Fuel economy improvements are projected to reduce future gasoline use
Anticipated changes in energy consumption by light-duty vehicles in the United States are based on two factors: the amount of travel and the fuel economy of the vehicles used. The Annual Energy Outlook 2017 (AEO2017) Reference case projects a decline in light-duty vehicle energy use between 2018 and 2040 as improvements in fuel economy more than offset increases in light-duty vehicle miles.
Air conditioning and other appliances increase residential electricity use in the summer
Residential electricity consumption rises and falls seasonally substantially more than commercial or industrial consumption, largely because of air conditioning use in the summer. According to the most recent data from EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), nearly 9 out of 10 U.S. homes are air conditioned by central units, individual (window, wall, or portable) units, or both. Other activities, including use of fans, dehumidifiers, and pool pumps, also increase summer electricity use in homes.
OPEC net oil revenues in 2016 were the lowest since 2004
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) earned about $433 billion in net oil export revenues in 2016, the lowest since 2004. In real dollar terms, the 2016 revenue represents a 15% decline from the $509 billion earned in 2015, mainly because of the fall in average annual crude oil prices and, to a lesser extent, because of decreases in OPEC net oil exports.
Tags: liquid fuels, oil/petroleum, OPEC, revenue
Large commercial buildings are more likely to use lighting control strategies
The most recent Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) collected new information about lighting control technologies and strategies in the United States in 2012. Compared with other investments in energy efficiency—such as upgrading heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems or replacing insulation—lighting controls are often relatively easy, accessible, and affordable changes. A new EIA report, Trends in Lighting in Commercial Buildings, details these strategies and provides information about lighting technologies in commercial buildings.
California electricity mix in 2017 has involved more renewables, less natural gas
So far in 2017, increased hydroelectric generation and solar power generation in California have contributed to lower natural gas-fired power generation in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) region, the electric system operator for much of the state. In a late April update to several state agencies responsible for planning and managing California’s energy reliability, Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) outlined its views regarding several assumptions and challenges for safely and reliably serving its customers in Southern California over the coming summer and winter.
Tags: California, efficiency, natural gas, renewables, states, weather
Oil-fired power plants provide small amounts of U.S. electricity capacity and generation
Roughly 70% of petroleum-fired electric generating capacity that still exists today was constructed prior to 1980. Utility-scale generators that reported petroleum as their primary fuel comprised only 3% of total electric generating capacity at the end of 2016 and produced less than 1% of total electricity generation during 2016.
Tags: capacity, coal, electricity, generation, liquid fuels, natural gas, oil/petroleum, prices
Petroleum product exports from Central Atlantic states were unusually high in February
Note: PADD is Petroleum Administration for Defense District. Finished petroleum products include asphalt and road oil, distillate, jet fuel, kerosene, lubricants, petroleum coke, residual fuel, special naphthas, and total motor gasoline.
Exports of finished petroleum products from the Central Atlantic region of the United States (Petroleum Administration of Defense District, or PADD 1B) reached a record high in February 2017. Increased exports were driven by lower prices for several petroleum products in the Central Atlantic region compared with prices in other regions in the Atlantic Basin. Distillate fuel and total motor gasoline, the two most-consumed petroleum products globally, were among the products that showed an increase in exports.
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