Two-thirds of US Subject to Summer Power Outages Thx to Wind/Solar
We don’t often talk about NERC–the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. NERC is a nonprofit corporation based in Atlanta, Georgia. The electric utility industry formed it to promote the reliability and adequacy of bulk power transmission in the electric utility systems of North America. Last week NERC issued its 2023 Summer Reliability Assessment (full copy below), which contains a warning. NERC says the western two-thirds of the country and New England face an “elevated risk” of power outages this summer. Why? Because there’s more power coming from unreliable renewables, and less power coming from reliable fossil energy sources.
Read More “Two-thirds of US Subject to Summer Power Outages Thx to Wind/Solar”
In March, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published its Annual Energy Outlook 2023 (see 
Three far-left organizations, the Clean Air Task Force (CATF), Ceres, and ERM Group, published their third annual report, “Benchmarking Methane and other GHG Emissions of Oil and Natural Gas Production in the United States” (full copy below), which analyzes the production-based emissions of the largest oil and gas producers in the U.S. While the aim of the report is to name-and-shame big oil and gas companies (the worst offenders) with respect to methane and so-called greenhouse gas emissions, the report could not gloss over the elephant in the room: This year’s analysis found that reported methane and greenhouse gas intensity in the oil and gas sector have declined 28% and 30%, respectively, between 2019 and 2021, despite an increase in natural gas and total hydrocarbon production.
The American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan economic policy organization that tilts to the conservative side. ACCF advocates for better (and less) regulation, innovation in energy policy, dynamic free trade, and better infrastructure policy. Yesterday the ACCF released a new study that shows the U.S. natural gas market remains “robust” and will have no problem meeting both growing domestic consumption and growing exports–all at relatively low prices. A key point made by the study is that natural gas prices can be even lower, 10% lower, for both ratepayers and for LNG customers–if the government would ease permitting delays for building new pipelines.
Oilfield services company (OFS) Baker Hughes is the keeper of the venerable oil and gas industry rig count, which it has been tabulating since 1944. Last Monday, we reported on the previous Friday’s rig count as a gut punch to the natural gas sector, with some 16 gas-focused rigs being taken out of service (see 
The news lit up Friday afternoon with the latest rig count by Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). We always caution that weekly rig counts are not a reliable way to gauge drilling activity as the count floats up and down each week. However, on Friday, the bottom kind of dropped out of the natural gas rig count. BKR said the gas-focused rig count dropped by 16 to 141 for the week, which amounts to a 10% drop in a single week. That *does* get your attention. The general consensus seems to be that low, low prices (bumping around near $2/MMBtu) have finally taken their toll, and drillers are pulling back on drilling new wells. How many rigs were lost in the Marcellus and Utica last week?
A laughably fake “report” just published by the University of Pennsylania (UPenn) and the far-left group Resources for the Future (RFF) makes this wild claim about the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a Marcellus-killing carbon tax scheme that will shut down most coal- and natural gas-fired power plants in the state: “Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative would lower Pennsylvania emissions, add to state revenues, and have little to no impact on electricity rates.” Yeah, right. UPenn/RFF are trying to sell a bridge in Brooklyn too, just in case you’re in the market to buy one.
Once a month, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) analysts issue the agency’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), their best guess about where energy prices and production will go in the next 12 months. Yesterday’s May edition predicts that U.S. natural gas production will rise to hit a new, all-time record high of 101.09 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) this year! That’s up from last year’s record-high of 98.13 Bcf/d. However, the report also predicts domestic gas consumption will fall. What about prices? More supply with less demand typically means lower prices.
We’ve noticed that the more science and objective proof is offered to prove that the warming of planet Earth is a natural cycle and not caused by humans, the more shrill and unhinged the left becomes. They resort to name-calling (you’re a “climate denier”), and they even, in their unguarded moments, suggest that perhaps people who espouse an opinion different from theirs should be jailed (see 
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), which tracks all things energy, reports natural gas production in the U.S. has increased for 23 consecutive months, due to an increase in demand from gas-fired power plants and LNG export operations. In fact, U.S. dry natgas production in February averaged 101.5 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day), the highest level for any month since 1973! Gross withdrawals (usage, including exports) were 123.1 Bcf/d in February, the highest daily rate of gross withdrawals for any month since 1980! Why do we not see mainstream media trumpeting these numbers?