In late January, Gulf Coast gasoline crack spreads reached their lowest levels since 2014

(Tue, 05 Mar 2019) U.S. Gulf Coast gasoline crack spreads had been declining since mid-2018 and briefly went negative in January and early February 2019 before rising, while distillate crack spreads remained relatively stable. The gasoline crack spread is the difference between the spot prices of gasoline and crude oil. EIA attributes relatively low gasoline crack spreads to more costly crude oil inputs and high gasoline inventories.

EIA expects stable U.S. biofuels production, consumption, and trade through 2020

(Fri, 01 Mar 2019) In its February 2019 <em>Short-Term Energy Outlook</em> (STEO), EIA forecasts that several recent trends in U.S. biofuels markets will continue through 2020. In the STEO, production of fuel ethanol and net imports of biomass-based diesel stay unchanged, while net exports of fuel ethanol decline modestly. Federal mandates and state programs continue to support biofuel consumption through 2020, however, biofuels remain a relatively small share of total U.S. liquid transportation fuels supply.

Monthly Solar Photovoltaic Module Shipments Report

(Thu, 28 Feb 2019) This report contains monthly summary data for the photovoltaic industry in the United States. Data include manufacturing, imports, and exports of modules in the United States and its territories. Summary data include volumes in peak kilowatts and average prices. Where possible, imports and exports are listed by country, and shipments to the United States are listed by state.

Electric Power Monthly

(Wed, 27 Feb 2019) Data in the February 2019 <em>Electric Power Monthly</em> (EPM) are for December 2018, during which net generation in the United States fell 4.6% from the December 2017 level. Consumption of natural gas for power generation was down 5.2% compared to December 2017. The average residential retail price of electricity for December 2018 was up 0.2% from what it had been in December 2017.

Extreme cold in the Midwest led to high power demand and record natural gas demand

(Tue, 26 Feb 2019) Extreme cold weather in the Midwest at the end of January led to high—but not record-setting—electricity load on Wednesday, January 30, 2019, the coldest day of the period, on the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) grid. However, consumption of natural gas, the main fuel used for heating in the region, reached estimated record levels on the same day. Natural gas and electricity prices were elevated but did not reach levels seen during previous cold weather events in recent years.

New methanol plants expected to increase industrial natural gas use through 2020

(Thu, 21 Feb 2019) New methanol plants under development in the United States are increasing natural gas consumption in the industrial sector. Methanol plants are among the most natural gas-intensive industrial end users and require natural gas both as a feedstock and for process heat. Three new plants expected to come online in 2019 and 2020 have a combined nameplate capacity of about 3.3 million metric tons per year (MMmt/y) and would increase total U.S. methanol capacity to 9.4 MMmt/y, or 25,600 metric tons per day (mt/d)—a 45% increase from the current U.S. capacity.

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