Six additional countries signed a pledge to triple global nuclear generation capacity by 2050 at the UN's Climate Change Conference, COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy was originally signed Dec. 2 at COP28 in Dubai by 22 countries. The six new signatories are El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Nigeria, and Turkey, the World Nuclear Association said...
The Biden administration has announced a plan to deploy 15 GW of new nuclear power per year by 2040, with the ultimate goal of tripling the current fleet by 2050. The White House plan released Nov. 12 calls for 35 GW of new nuclear capacity to be operating or under construction by 2035, with 200 GW deployed by 2050. The...
Hawaiian Electric credit risks tied to wildfires and the costs associated with them resulted in Clearway Energy canceling power purchase agreements that the renewable power project developer had with the utility, Leo Asuncion, chairman of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, said Nov. 10. If more clean energy project developers follow that path, Hawaii risks missing renewable portfolio standard targets, Asuncion...
Trump's election as US President "is set to have far-reaching, significant effects on global gas markets," Axpo Singapore Managing Director Sophie Ducoloner told S&P Global Commodity Insights in an interview. "Trump is expected to fast-track new LNG projects. On the other hand, had the Democrats won, they may not have necessarily rejected these projects but could have implemented more regulatory...
The Thailand International Renewable Energy Certificate (I-REC) market continues to grapple with significant oversupply, despite recording its highest issuance figure in October 2024. The market saw an issuance of 1.48 TWh from January to October 2024, marking a 2.3% increase from the previous month. However, redemption rates remained low, reaching only 0.4 TWh, a modest 9.99% increase from the prior...
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is set to unveil a set of proposed LNG policy steps Nov. 8, including a first-of-its-kind measure to help build new LNG storage tanks for the country's energy security, a METI source told S&P Global Commodity Insights Nov. 7. The proposed actions will be released at a METI subcommittee on energy resources development...
The Vietnamese government has proposed revisions to its Electricity Law to enhance its energy landscape by boosting the renewable energy sector and paving the way for nuclear power development. These legislative changes aim to attract foreign investment in the renewable energy sector by promoting policy and institutional advancements -- essential for integrating new energy sources into the grid -- advancing...
California voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure allowing the state to borrow $10 billion to fund environmental and energy initiatives aimed at addressing climate change impacts. The Associated Press called the race at 10:07 a.m. Pacific Time on Nov. 6, at which time Proposition 4 was leading by 15.9 percentage points with 52.88% of the vote cast. Prop. 4 authorizes...
Strong power demand and an unusually hot summer have driven Japan's coal imports to a 20-month high, as the country turns to additional suppliers to meet energy needs. In September, Japan imported 15.90 million mt of coal, marking a 17.35% year-on-year increase, according to the latest trade statistics data from the Ministry of Finance. This surge in coal consumption defies...
Republican candidate Kelly Ayotte will likely be the next governor of New Hampshire after winning a tightly contested race against Democrat Joyce Craig, according to preliminary election results. Ayotte led Craig by 7.5 percentage points with 62% of votes counted when the Associated Press called the race at around 10:35 pm ET on Nov. 5. Ayotte, a former New Hampshire...
Anticipation of potential increases in 2025 spot LNG prices is shaping buyers' purchasing strategies, as the global LNG market braces for tight conditions amid concerns over supply vulnerabilities and increasing demand. Spot LNG prices in 2025 remain vulnerable to supply-side shocks and unforeseen events as the global LNG balance is expected to remain tight from delays in LNG liquefaction capacity,...
Northwest European LNG prices flipped to premium territory versus Northeast Asian benchmarks for the first time this year as European worries over supply shortages bolster sentiment. Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the JKM -- the benchmark price reflecting LNG delivered to Northeast Asia -- for December at $13.821/MMBtu on Nov. 14, up 31.4 cents/MMBtu or 2.3% day...
Republicans gained full control of the US Congress, adding tailwinds for the incoming Trump administration's deregulatory agenda. The election results also increase risks to clean energy spending through the Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure legislation. The Associated Press projected late Nov. 13 that Republicans have won 218 of the 435 seats in the US House of Representatives, with nine...
Germany's economy ministry has instructed state-owned LNG terminal operator Deutsche Energy Terminal (DET) to reject any cargoes of Russian LNG that may attempt delivery, the Financial Times reported Nov. 14. The FT cited a letter dated Nov. 6 sent by the ministry to DET that told the terminal operator "not to accept any deliveries of Russian LNG." It came after...
Chinese state-owned Sinopec's heads of agreement with TotalEnergies for the supply of LNG is likely being discussed at a price of around 12% crude oil slope or lower amid current market conditions, sources told S&P Global Commodity Insights. The HOA signed on Nov. 4 allows France's TotalEnergies to supply 2 million mt/year of LNG to Sinopec for 15 years, starting...
Biden administration officials have asked the European Commission to ensure imports of LNG that meet US regulations on methane emissions will satisfy new European standards for imported fuels, according to a letter obtained by S&P Global Commodity Insights. The letter was dated Oct. 28 -- a week before president-elect Donald Trump won a second term, having promised a deregulatory agenda...
Premiums for calendar year 2025 gas and LNG contracts versus 2026 contracts and beyond have shot up in the week since the US presidential election, with Donald Trump's victory seemingly injecting more volatility into a market already weighing stronger near-term demand signals, supply security concerns and delays to new liquefaction capacity, against expectations of a "looser balance" in 2026 when...
A series of initiatives to reduce methane emissions were unveiled on Nov. 12 at the UN Climate Change Conference, with several countries, industry bodies and financial institutions involved. The US, China and Azerbaijan convened a summit on the sidelines of COP29 focusing on cutting emissions of methane and other non-CO2 greenhouse gases. In a statement, the US Department of State...
BlueNord plans to focus on maximizing economic recovery from its resource base offshore Denmark and to maintain production levels through the development of existing assets, CEO Euan Shirlaw said in an interview. BlueNord -- formerly known as Noreco (Norwegian Energy Company) -- holds a 36.8% stake in the Danish Underground Consortium alongside TotalEnergies (43.2%) and Nordsofonden (20%). The DUC's main...
The supply of Russian LNG into Europe continues at a steady rate, with a number of EU countries still taking cargoes in the absence of EU-wide sanctions against imports. But EU sanctions banning the transshipment of Russian LNG at EU ports for delivery to non-EU countries will come into effect at the end of March 2025, while a ban on...
We forecast that U.S. natural gas marketed production will increase by 2% to average 120.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2026 and then further increase to a record-high 122.3 Bcf/d in 2027 in our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). Around 69% of forecast production over the next two years comes from the Appalachia, Haynesville, and Permian regions.
State taxes and fees on motor gasoline as of January 1, 2026, ranged from a high of 70.9 cents per gallon (c/gal) in California to a low of 9.0 c/gal in Alaska. State gasoline taxes averaged 33.5 c/gal across states, a slight increase from their average last year.
We forecast that production of petroleum and other liquids will continue to exceed global demand, which results in Brent crude oil prices falling from an average of $69 per barrel (b) in 2025 to $58/b in 2026 and $53/b in 2027. Crude oil prices tend to decrease as global petroleum stocks increase. Persistently high implied global oil inventory builds in the near-term are putting downward pressure on crude oil prices despite heightened uncertainty around the volume of crude oil exports from Russia and Venezuela.
About 22% of light-duty vehicles sold in 2025 in the United States were hybrid, battery electric, or plug-in hybrid vehicles, up from 20% in 2024. Among those categories, hybrid electric vehicles have continued to gain market share while battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles decreased, according to estimates from Omdia. In the second half of 2025, battery electric vehicle sales increased before sharply declining in response to the expiration of tax credits at the end of September.
Working natural gas stocks fell 360 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in the Lower 48 states for the week ending January 30, 2026, amid Winter Storm Fern-the largest weekly net withdrawal reported in the history of the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report. The withdrawal exceeded the five-year average for the same week by 89% (170 Bcf). The large withdrawals resulted from increased heating demand for natural gas and natural gas production curtailments because of severe winter weather. Working gas stocks are now 1.1% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Average wholesale day-ahead electricity prices at most major trading hubs in the Lower 48 states were higher in 2025 than in 2024, driven largely by higher natural gas prices to electric generators. The largest increase in price was $29 per megawatthour (MWh) in New England's Independent System Operator (ISO-NE), and the largest decrease was $14/MWh in the upper Northwest's Mid-Columbia.
Over the past few years, Independent System Operator-New England (ISO-NE) has relied less on Canada for electricity. On January 16, 2026, the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC), a 1,200 megawatt (MW) transmission line project, began commercial operation. The new high-voltage direct current NECEC transmission line is primarily intended to increase the amount of hydroelectric power exported from Canada to New England. However, during Winter Storm Fern, New England exported more electricity to Canada than it imported.
Although petroleum accounts for less than 1% of total U.S. utility-scale electric power generation, regions such as New England rely on oil-fired units during winter periods when cold weather creates high demand. When Winter Storm Fern affected New England this week, petroleum was the predominant energy source starting around midday on January 24 and lasting until early morning on January 26. Since then, petroleum and natural gas have been fluctuating as the primary energy source.
In the week ending January 25, 2026, as Winter Storm Fern affected significant portions of the country, coal-fired electricity generation in the Lower 48 states increased 31% from the previous week. The increase contrasts with coal use in the earlier part of January, which had milder weather and consequently lower coal-fired generation compared with the same period in 2025.
Shipping rates for crude oil tankers were at multi-year highs at the end of 2025 before falling in early 2026. Rates climbed in the fall of 2025 because of increased demand for crude oil shipments, particularly from buyers in East Asia, limiting the number of vessels available for bookings. In this analysis, we look at several key global tanker routes for Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and Suezmax tankers, including the Persian Gulf-to-Asia route and the U.S. Gulf Coast-to-Europe route.
Between January 1, 2026, and January 21, 2026, nuclear power plant outages averaged 2.0 gigawatts (GW), 20% less than in the same period in 2025 and below the previous five-year range (2021–25) for 7 out of 21 days.
Natural gas daily spot prices at the benchmark Henry Hub rose sharply over the past week, reaching nearly $8.15 per million British thermal units on January 22 as colder weather increased demand for space heating across the country. Higher wholesale natural gas prices generally contribute to higher wholesale electricity prices.
