Florida is the nation’s fourth-largest consumer of natural gas, and its consumption has tripled since 2000, mostly due to the development of nearly 30 GW of new gas-fired power plants. In today’s RBN blog, we examine the state’s remarkable growth and whether additional pipeline capacity might be needed.
Opinions vary on how much U.S. electricity demand may rise and how much that may impact demand for natural gas. But there’s across-the-board agreement that the electric and gas sectors are more intertwined than ever and electric-grid reliability will suffer if gas-fired plants don’t get the fuel they need.
More propane production. More exports. More inventories. The U.S. propane market, already oversupplied, is becoming even more so, putting additional downward pressure on prices. At the same time, surging demand from LNG exports and gas-fired power generation is pushing natural gas prices higher. Electricity prices are climbing too, further tilting the scales in propane’s favor. The big question is, will these shifting fuel-price relationships move the needle on retail propane demand.
The most significant operating expense for energy pipelines is the power needed for pumps and compressors. So, when gas and power prices surge as a result of inclement weather, it can be costly for pipelines. To address that risk, many midstream companies have enrolled in demand-response programs with power providers, where they agree to temporarily cut back some assets. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss the strategies that pipelines are using to boost their operations and lower costs.
The popularity of weather derivatives has ebbed and flowed since their introduction in the late 1990s but trading activity has rebounded in recent years as the trading community has increasingly begun to reassess the need to hedge weather-related risks — everything from high temperatures and rainfall levels to power prices and cooling demand. In today’s RBN blog, we examine the role of weather derivatives, how they are used to hedge risk, and why they may be becoming increasingly important to the energy industry.
There is tremendous buzz around natural-gas-fired turbines right now with backlogs reportedly stretching five years into the future due to supply-chain bottlenecks, labor shortages and a surge in demand. The power generation industry is poised for a major upswing as data center development and overall electricity demand continue to accelerate, driving an even greater need for gas turbines. In today’s RBN blog, we will explore why gas turbines are so challenging to build and why there’s such a manufacturing backlog.
Rising demand for electricity to serve data centers, manufacturing and other power-consuming sectors of the economy is spurring the development of scores of gas-fired plants — up to 100 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity by 2040. How much power those new plants will actually generate — and, with that, how much natural gas they will require — remain open questions, however. A recent study indicates that the vast majority of incremental power demand over the next 15 years could be supplied by solar and wind and that gas demand for power may remain pretty much flat. But the Trump administration’s dim view of most renewables — and clear preference for fossil fuels — suggest otherwise. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss gas demand for power in the late 2020s and 2030s.
Two factors — public concern about soaring utility bills and President Trump’s strong opposition to offshore wind — are forcing New England to rethink its once-ambitious plans for a renewables-heavy electric grid and reassess how to meet its power-generation needs in the late 2020s and early 2030s. One possibility would be to expand the region’s access to piped-in natural gas, but midstreamers’ previous efforts to add pipeline capacity were beaten back time and again. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss New England’s ongoing debate about what to do next.
New England is determined to shift toward a greener electric grid, but the region’s plan to slash its current reliance on natural gas (and backup fuel oil — and sometimes coal) by ramping up offshore wind and solar (and backup batteries) has hit a seemingly immovable object. President Trump, a staunch opponent of offshore wind, on Day 1 of his second administration ordered a halt to new leases and permits and directed his Interior Secretary to review existing permits. As we’ll discuss in today’s RBN blog, those moves have left New England power planners scratching their heads, and may even resurrect the possibility of expanding natural gas pipeline capacity into the region.
If all goes to plan, Texas’s isolated power grid will one day be connected to a pair of neighboring states via a massive transmission line called Southern Spirit. The project is designed to increase grid reliability, reduce blackouts and drive down energy bills, but it could be years before it becomes a reality. And while the transmission line will connect Texas with Louisiana and Mississippi, it is more akin to a drawbridge that can be raised or lowered as needed without subjecting the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid to federal oversight. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss what the Southern Spirit transmission line would mean for Texas.
