Tag: natural gas

Renewables Forecast To Generate A Quarter Of U.S. Electricity In 2024

Though natural gas remains the dominant fuel for electricity, it is forecast to drop to 41 percent from 42 percent. Coal is expected to decline as well.

Renewables are forecast to provide a quarter of the nation’s electricity next year, while both coal and natural gas are set to decline.

Driven by growth in wind and solar, renewables will generate 24 percent of U.S. electricity in 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Though natural gas remains the dominant fuel for electricity, it is forecast to drop to 41 percent from 42 percent. Coal is expected to decline as well, from 16 percent to 15 percent.

As recently as 2021, coal generated 23 percent of the country’s electric power. Renewables surpassed coal for the first time in 2022.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis predicts 2024 will be the first in a string of record-breaking years for renewable power.

Renewables also include hydro, geothermal and biomass, which uses organic matter as fuel.

December’s Freeze Cost Mon Power $40.5 Million In Penalties

The power grid struggled to meet the demand for electricity as temperatures plummeted ahead of Christmas Eve.

Updated Friday, Nov. 17, with comment from Mon Power.

Mon Power paid a $40.5 million performance penalty to PJM interconnection for the December outage at its Harrison plant in Harrison County, according to written testimony filed this week to the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC).

PJM is the grid operator that includes West Virginia and 12 other mostly eastern states. PJM struggled to meet the demand for electricity as temperatures plummeted ahead of Christmas Eve.

A large portion of West Virginia’s coal-fired generation was not available during that critical time, including Harrison’s Unit 2.

According to the PSC testimony, Unit 2 was offline for 17 days in December. It was brought back into operation on Dec. 24 at 7 p.m, during the height of the crisis. 

Hours earlier, Mon Power had asked its customers to conserve electricity. West Virginia did not experience rolling blackouts that weekend, but some surrounding states did.

Hannah Catlett, a spokeswoman for Mon Power, said the company’s plants “performed very well with some units performing better than others.”

She said Mon Power will receive a net of $10 million in performance payments that exceed charges from PJM and that that money will be credited back to customers.

In total, PJM lost 7,600 megawatts of coal capacity and 32,500 megawatts of natural gas during the peak of the crisis.

Unit 2 is capable of generating 684 megawatts of the plant’s total output of 2,052 megawatts.

Mon Power is before the PSC seeking a rate increase that would add $10 a month to the average residential bill.

Justice Wants PSC To Investigate Charleston Gas Outages

The gas outage, which began last Friday, was caused by a water main rupture on Charleston’s West Side, flooding the area’s gas lines with water.

Gov. Jim Justice said a water main break is to blame for a natural gas outage that’s affected hundreds of Charleston residents for nearly a week.

The gas outage, which began last Friday, was caused by a water main rupture on Charleston’s West Side, flooding the area’s gas lines with water.

Mountaineer Gas personnel had restored service to 260 customers by Thursday, according to Mayor Amy Goodwin, including an elementary school and a community center.

Justice, in his regular media briefing, said he wanted the state Public Service Commission (PSC), which regulates utilities, to look at what happened.

“And that’s why I’ve asked the PSC to launch a full-fledged investigation in regard to this entire matter,” he said Thursday.

Kanawha County Schools Superintendent Tom Williams said meal boxes would be provided to affected students and their families on Friday, enough to get them through the weekend, with more meals coming to them on Tuesday.

State Of Emergency Declared For Charleston’s West Side Following Natural Gas Outage

A state of emergency has been declared in West Virginia’s state capital due to a gas outage that has left more than 1,000 families without heat, hot water or working stoves.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

A state of emergency has been declared in West Virginia’s state capital due to a natural gas outage that has left more than 1,000 families without heat, hot water or working stoves.

Gov. Jim Justice announced the National Guard has been activated to assist in providing resources to Charleston’s West Side neighborhoods.

Residents of the affected area are predominantly people of color living in a lower-income community.

The outage may have originated from a burst water pipe late last week, according to officials, that flooded the gas lines. The state’s Public Service Commission is investigating the cause.

Mountaineer Gas Company said a high-pressure water main break infiltrated the gas distribution system in that area on Nov. 10, 2023. The company reported that it has made progress on removing water from its 46 miles of natural gas lines in the West Side. Full restoration of natural gas services is anticipated within the next seven days, according to a release. 

“I have spoken with the vice president of Mountaineer Gas, and we’re closely following their progress in restoring service to families,” Justice said. “From what I understand, it is no easy task, but they expressed they are diligently working to get gas turned back on as fast as possible. I have offered any state resources they may need to assist them.”

This will not be an easy or quick fix, according to Justice, so meals will be provided through various local charities, including senior centers and churches, in the coming weeks.

“The other big problem is making sure people are fed hot meals, especially through the Thanksgiving holiday next week,” Justice said. “We have both Kanawha Valley Senior Center and Lincoln County Senior Center pitching in to provide hundreds of meals. We are also working with West Virginia Health Right and A More Excellent Way Life Center Church on the West Side to take care of families. If this outage continues through Thanksgiving, we will make sure families are fed.”

Working with the West Virginia Emergency Management Division, Kanawha County Emergency Management, and the City of Charleston, the guard will be delivering bottled water along with various warming and cooking supplies to the West Virginia Health Right West Side Clinic located at 511 Central Avenue, Charleston on Thursday morning, Nov. 16, 2023. The time is yet to be determined.

Mountaineer Gas told the Gazette-Mail on Wednesday that customers will be receiving credits on their bills, although the credit may not apply until a future bill.

Analysis: After Rebound, Coal Production On Track To Fall Next Year

As a share of U.S. electricity production, coal has done worse this year that it did in 2020.

After rebounding for a couple of years, coal production is declining once again, the latest numbers show.

As a share of U.S. electricity production, coal has done worse this year that it did in 2020.

That’s according to an analysis of recent data by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

Coal has not generated more than 19 percent of U.S. electricity in any month this year, falling to 13.8 percent in April and May. That’s the first time coal has ever fallen below 15 percent. Coal was never less than 20 percent in any month before 2020.

Power plants currently have huge inventories of coal. On average, 113 days, or four months. That’s not far below the May 2020 peak of 120 days. It took 16 months to lower those stockpiles.

Seth Feaster, an energy data analyst, says that’s not good news for the mining industry. As utilities burn through their current inventory, they’re not going to buy more.

“And the other shoe to drop is we’re going to start seeing a decline in coal production because there’s nowhere to put all that coal,” he said.

Utilities are choosing to use cheaper natural gas and renewables instead, Feaster says. In 2024, he says, the post-COVID coal rebound will be over.

Federal Data: Coal Falls 21 Percent Year To Date In U.S. Electricity Mix

Coal’s decline may continue, with lower natural gas prices and federal incentives to build more renewables and battery storage.

Coal continues a steep decline as a source of the nation’s electricity.

From January to August, coal fell more than 21 percent from last year. That’s according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Electric Power Monthly Report.

Natural gas, which has been the dominant fuel for electricity for several years, increased more than 7 percent.

Solar posted the most growth year-to-date, increasing more than 11 percent. Wind, however, fell about 3 percent.

Despite the activation of the nation’s first nuclear power plant in a generation in Georgia, nuclear’s share of the nation’s electricity stayed basically flat.

Coal’s decline may continue, with lower natural gas prices and federal incentives to build more renewables and battery storage.

According to EIA data, coal consumption for electricity generation also declined about 21 percent during January to August. Natural gas consumption increased 7 percent during that time.

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