US nuclear plant sites could host as much as 95 GW of additional capacity—about double current nuclear capacity—depending on the type of new reactor to help meeting growing electricity demand, according to an analysis from the US Department of Energy. The DOE report, released Sept. 9, also looked at dozens of coal plant sites in 36 states and found the...
Independent power producer Econergy is targeting longer duration battery energy storage system (BESS) projects across its European plays as revenue opportunities tilt towards wholesale markets and long-term contracts, the company's head of storage Joshua Murphy told S&P Global Commodity Insights in an interview Sept. 10. The Israeli-listed IPP has a large portfolio of solar and storage assets in Italy, Greece,...
The US National Hurricane Center has forecast Tropical Storm Francine, strengthening Sept. 9 in the western Gulf of Mexico, to make landfall as a hurricane in the central Gulf Coast between East Texas and the Florida Panhandle Sept. 11-12, which could disrupt energy infrastructure and power prices across the region. In a 1 pm CT public advisory, the National Hurricane...
The day-ahead spot price traded on the Japan Electric Power Exchange spiked 8.6% to Yen 16.96/kWh for Sept. 10, led by higher contracted prices for the central and western areas due to robust power demand from the country's prolonged heat. The Sept. 10 spot price rose from Yen 15.62/kWh for Sept. 9, driven by higher contracted prices for the Chubu,...
The US Department of Energy has selected of 293 hydroelectric improvement projects across 33 states to receive up to $430 million in incentive payments. The funding will go toward upgrading hydropower facilities that have been in operation for an average of 79 years, the DOE announced Sept. 5. "This could also potentially increase power generation from the existing hydropower fleet...
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has granted development consent to Island Green Power's 600-MW Cottam Solar Project, the UK's largest to date, the ministry said Sept. 5. The approval follows planning consent in July for three other major new solar farms totaling 1.35 GW by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, in a move welcomed by the industry as...
Offshore wind returned to the fray in the UK's latest renewables auction after blanking in the last bidding round in 2023. But while nearly 5 GW of projects were awarded contracts Sept. 3, industry participants warned that a substantial gap in the pipeline still exists, with time running out to achieve a quadrupling of installed capacity by 2030. Allocation Round...
Participants in the Chilean International Renewable Energy Certificate market cited concerns over a new electricity subsidy draft bill presented to the country's congress in late August, with some worried that the bill could disincentivize investments in renewable energy projects, hamper I-REC issuances and raise I-REC prices. The Ministry of Energy presented to congress on Aug. 26 a draft bill aiming...
US Mid-Atlantic and Northeast power market interconnection queues remain dominated by solar power, wind power and energy storage projects with small volumes of natural gas-fired projects scheduled for either this year or 2025. PJM Interconnection, which covers 13 states and Washington serving 65 million people, has about 204 MW of gas-fired capacity scheduled to come online in 2024 or 2025,...
The 2024 US presidential election marks a pivotal moment for the ambitious suite of climate and energy regulations advanced by the Biden administration. Executive branch agencies are defending broad controls on greenhouse gas emissions from the US electricity, transportation, and oil and gas sectors following a tie-breaking vote in 2022 by Vice President Kamala Harris for the Inflation Reduction Act,...
Asian upstream players will prioritize purchasing stakes in oil and gas producing assets amid pressure for shorter-term returns alongside uncertainties over the global energy transition, industry executives said during a panel discussion at S&P Global Commodity Insights' APPEC 2024 conference in Singapore. "Because of the energy transition, there is a scramble for developing countries discovered resources because everybody wants to...
Pan American Energy and Tecpetrol, two of the biggest gas producers in Argentina, plan to increase Vaca Muerta gas production to export more supplies to Brazil and Chile in the near term as two pipeline projects widen the sales potential from the shale play, executives said Sept. 10. "We are considering selling to Brazil by using all the midstream capacity...
European LNG spot prices have struggled to compete with oil-linked contracts as the overarching bearish sentiment in crude oil was battling the looming winter risks in the European natural gas and LNG markets, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights. Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the Northwest European LNG marker for October at $11.813/MMBtu on Sept....
US Gulf Coast drillers were shutting in oil and gas production, and ports were starting to close Sept. 10 in preparation for Tropical Storm Francine's landfall. Upstream producers had shut in 412,070 b/d of oil production, or around 23.55% of the US Gulf's total crude output of 1.85 million b/d, and also 494,000 Mcf/d, or about 25.56% of the Gulf's...
The EU should strengthen its joint gas purchasing activities to make best use of its collective bargaining power and reduce its exposure to volatile spot prices, a report on European competitiveness published Sept. 9 found. The report by former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi -- called "The future of European competitiveness" -- also found that the EU faced an "increasingly...
Algeria goes to the polls Sept. 7 in a vote almost certain to see incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune elected for a second term, and with it a seamless continuation of the North African producer's current energy strategy prioritizing gas supplies to Europe and participation in the OPEC+ oil production alliance. "With the elections only likely to run to a single...
The 2024 US presidential election marks a pivotal moment for the ambitious suite of climate and energy regulations advanced by the Biden administration. Executive branch agencies are defending broad controls on greenhouse gas emissions from the US electricity, transportation, and oil and gas sectors following a tie-breaking vote in 2022 by Vice President Kamala Harris for the Inflation Reduction Act,...
Mexico is trying to reactivate a costly deepwater natural gas project it abandoned in hopes of cutting the country's dependence on imported gas and to recoup some of its original investment. But critics question the decision, warning the project's high complexity could end up being another source of financial losses for the country's already indebted oil and gas company. Pemex...
Texas regulators' decision to pursue possible Texas Energy Fund financing for about 9.8 GW of new dispatchable generation projects, almost all using natural gas, may reduce scarcity pricing if they are approved, industry observers said Sept. 3, but it could increase natural gas demand and prices. The Public Utility Commission of Texas approved a portfolio of 17 dispatchable generation projects...
The US oil and natural gas rig count fell by four to 633 rigs for the week ended Aug. 21, S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed, as analysts said they are seeing recent evidence of resilience in oil supply and gas prices by year-end. In each of the eight large unconventional basins, the domestic rig count either did not move...
The change in average residential electricity prices across the United States has generally mirrored the rate of inflation over the past decade, increasing by less than 1% in inflation-adjusted terms between 2013 and 2023. Without adjusting for inflation, the average retail price of electricity for the residential sector increased from a little more than 12 cents per kilowatthour (kWh) in 2013 to 16 cents per kWh in 2023.
Natural gas pipeline takeaway capacity in the Permian Basin will soon increase as the Matterhorn Express Pipeline, with a capacity of 2.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), is expected to begin service this month, according to EnLink Midstream, one of the project�s stakeholders.
Utility regulators in the United States are considering increases to electricity rates again this year as electric utilities seek to cover the investments needed to maintain and expand their systems. Utilities requested rate increases in recent years to pay for improvements to transmission and distribution lines to withstand increasingly serious weather and fire events, prepare for increased electrification as state and federal clean energy legislation is implemented, and move more energy reliably, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence Capital IQ Pro.
Utility-scale battery energy storage systems have been growing quickly as a source of electric power capacity in the United States in recent years. In the first seven months of 2024, operators added 5 gigawatts (GW) of capacity to the U.S. electric power grid, according to data in our July 2024 electric generator inventory. In 2010, only 4 megawatts (MW) of utility-scale battery energy storage was added in the United States. In July 2024, more than 20.7 GW of battery energy storage capacity was available in the United States.
U.S. exports of thermal coal to Asia and Africa surged in the first half of 2024, helping to drive overall U.S. coal exports (thermal and metallurgical) to 53 million short tons (MMst) from 49 MMst in the first half of 2023.
