EUCI Blog

Energize Weekly, October 2, 2019 Nuclear power generation was up 2.4 percent worldwide in 2018 to 2,563 terawatt-hours (TWh) from 449 operable reactors, according to the World Nuclear Association, an industry trade group. There were 55 reactors under construction in 2018, with five new construction starts and nine new reactors connected to the grid, adding…

Energize Weekly, October 2, 2019 The operating life span for U.S. wind farms has increased by more than a third to 30 years in the last two decades, according to a survey and analysis by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The increasing lifetime of the wind projects is improving the economics of wind energy and…

Energize Weekly, October 2, 2019 World energy consumption is projected to grow by 50 percent by 2050, with most of that demand coming from growing Asian economies, according to the federal Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) International Energy Outlook. “Energy consumption was greater in Asia than in any other region in 2018, and we project that…

Energize Weekly, September 25, 2019 The U.S. market for “smart home” devices will more than triple by 2025, reaching $75 billion, according to data analytics company GlobalData. The growth will be driven by the increased use of smart thermostats, which consumers see as an energy-saving device and utilities as one that can help manage load.…

Energize Weekly, September 25, 2019 The U.S. wind industry has a strong supply chain, a solid investment pipeline and growing employment, but could face a downturn in the 2020s from natural gas, low growth in electricity demand and the loss of federal tax incentives, according to a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) assessment. A key…

Energize Weekly, September 18, 2019 Rooftop solar arrays could economically provide a quarter of the electricity currently being consumed by European Union (EU) countries, according to a study by the EU’s Joint Research Centre. The researchers used satellite-based geospatial data to calculate the available roof space in the EU – it came out to about…

Energize Weekly, September 18, 2019 Seattle’s ambitious plans for electrifying the city’s transportation sector could destabilize the metropolitan area’s electric grid by the addition of large numbers of electric trucks and buses, a study finds. The study by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) in collaboration with Seattle City Light offers a series of steps to…

Energize Weekly, September 11, 2019 Global wind turbine orders in the second quarter of 2019 were 111 percent year-over-year to 31 gigawatts (GW) of capacity and set a new quarterly record, according to industry analyst Wood Mackenzie. The 31 GW of orders easily outstripped the previous record of 13.2 GW set in the fourth quarter…

Energize Weekly, September 11, 2019 The number of oil and gas rigs operating in the U.S. – on land and offshore – fell in September to less than 900 for the first time since 2017, according to the Baker Hughes North American Rig Count. There were 898 rigs operating on Sept. 6 the weekly survey,…

Energize Weekly, September 11, 2019 After a sharp decline in electric vehicle (EV) sales in July – the first drop in 30 months – Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) cut its sales forecast for the year by 6 percent to 1.5 million vehicles. EV sales in July were down nearly 7 percent compared with July…

Energize Weekly, September 11, 2019 Natural gas prices in the Permian Basin are being bolstered as new takeaway pipeline capacity is opening in the western Texas fields. The natural gas price at the Waha Hub in western Texas reached $1.55 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Aug. 15, the highest price in nearly six…

Energize Weekly, September 11, 2019 Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association has added energy services company MIECO Inc. as its first non-rural electric cooperative member, clearing the way for the association to be regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). In July, Tri-State, which serves 43 electric cooperatives in four states – Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming…