Over 16.4 BCFD of new natural gas pipeline capacity is expected to come into service between now and October 2018. A large chunk of this capacity (7.2 BCFD) aims to provide incremental production takeaway capacity, primarily in the Marcellus/Utica region (see map below). However, EVA’s most recent natural gas production forecast suggests these pipelines may […]
Clean Power Plan Repeal Finally Picks Up Steam
On October 10, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) added another chapter to the story of one of the most contentious environmental regulations, when EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt issued the proposed Clean Power Plan Repeal Rule. This action, almost 200 days after President Trump ordered the EPA in his Executive Order to Promote Energy […]
Metallurgical Coal Production drops in Third Quarter, Despite Strong Market Conditions
Quarterly coal production data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) show a significant drop in metallurgical coal production for the third quarter in 2017. While year-to-date metallurgical coal production is still well above 2016 levels (+26.7% through Q3), quarter-on-quarter production data shows a 9.5% decline, despite strong export market conditions for U.S. met […]
Unprecedented Outage Cuts Gas Flows on TETCO Southbound
Around 11pm on Oct 11, Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCO) declared a force majeure on an unplanned outage that occurred on the gas pipeline just south of its Berne Compressor Station in eastern Ohio. As of mid-morning on Oct 12, TETCO has not yet provided an estimate for when service will be restored. As a result of […]
Pumping the PURPA Brakes: North Carolina opts for a more competitive solar development process
Renewable energy development in the Southeast U.S. has been largely non-existent, with the notable exception of North Carolina. Even there, wind development has been scarce, but the state has emerged as the nation’s second largest state for utility scale solar, behind only California. Having added 828 MW in 2015 and 758 MW in 2016, North […]
Sabine Pass LNG fills the tanks while waiting for Harvey to pass
Despite devastating much of Texas’ Gulf Coast, Hurricane Harvey has by all accounts spared Sabine Pass LNG, located on the Texas-Louisiana border. Owner and operator Cheniere has said operations were largely unaffected by the storm and corresponding deluge. Yet, no LNG cargoes have been loaded at the facility since Thursday 8/24 (just before the storm […]
Iranian Oil: Not Quite Open for Business
With the UN sanctions relief, Iran is seeking to revitalize its oil industry and already has raised oil production to near pre-sanction levels. The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) aims to increase production capacity through 2021 to 4.8 MMBD by appealing to global oil majors for capital investments and renovations to their drilling and production […]
Retail NEM: Still controversial, but a consensus begins to emerge on this key driver of rooftop solar installations
Rooftop PV installations have soared in the U.S. over the past several years, but activity has been heavily concentrated in just a few states offering strong policy support. Retail net energy metering (NEM), which allows the homeowner to sell surplus solar power back to the grid at retail rates, has been a particularly critical driver […]
OPEC Fails to Reduce Global Oil Production Putting Downward Pressure on Oil Prices
While global oil production data for June is still preliminary, it indicates that global oil production is now above Oct. 2016 levels, despite OPEC’s plan to reduce supply. As illustrated in Exhibit 1, despite OPEC’s Big 4 reducing production levels 1.45 MBD, production increases for OPEC’s two wild cards and Non-OPEC’s Big 4, which is […]
New Coal & Gas Price Sensitivity Outlook Projects 2017 Coal Generation to Actualize Lower than Expected
EVA has published its July Coal & Gas Price Sensitivity Outlook. The report provides insight into how Coal-to-Gas (C2G) competition may evolve given pending changes to fuel pricing and the fundamental structure of the electric power markets. EVA’s Scenario Analysis (SCAN) of modeled assumptions provides high-level insight into a broad range of market-driven outcomes. Highlights […]