natural gas prices

Nuclear energy costs

 

On Saturday, the Tampa Bay Times published a lengthy piece that argues the two reactor installation proposed for Levy County, Florida is a more expensive option than a natural gas power plant.[read more]

proposed Spectra natural gas pipeline

A new pipeline promises new natural gas supplies for New York City. Some tout the economic and environmental benefits that will come from it. Others decry the potential problems it brings.[read more]

Kewaunee Nuclear Plant/Wikimedia Commons

On May 7, 2013, the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Station is scheduled to stop generating emission free electricity for the last time. The plant is one of the better run and maintained facilities in the US.[read more]

energy markets/shutterstock

All energy markets are volatile at times, sedate at others. If the Energy Security Trust is really about saving the American consumer from price swings, it will fail.[read more]

US coal use and export

As coal-fired generation is on the decline in the US, American environmentalists have reason to celebrate. But a look beyond our borders reveals a sobering picture: coal will be the world's #1 fuel by 2017.[read more]

As a scientist and an unabashed nerd, I love data. Particularly, I love it when ready access to data reveals things that are surprising in the face of conventional wisdom. Despite record-low wholesale electricity prices there's been a slow but quite noticeable creep of wholesale natural gas prices upward to the range of $6/MMBtu.[read more]

Oil & Gas Tanker via Shutterstock

Advances in drilling and fracturing underground rock (a.k.a. "fracking") have unlocked massive supplies of natural gas previously trapped deep under the United States, positioning the U.S. to become the world’s largest producer of natural gas by 2015. Ironically, this gas is now trapped within the geographic boundaries of North America...[read more]

As you may have noticed, the natural gas industry has undergone a bit of a boom in the last few years.In April, generation from natural gas tied that from coal for the first time ever. The boom has some energy analysts hailing a natural gas “miracle.” But others are very concerned, largely because of the local environmental...[read more]

Last year, significant growth in natural gas production combined with low demand – due to a warm winter – caused natural gas prices to plummet below US$2 per thousand cubic feet. This benefited consumers, but forced some energy companies to abandon gas drilling programs and put significant pressure on their budgets, most notably...[read more]

Natural Gas Processing Site via Shutterstock

Every fall my natural gas utility asks if I'd like to lock in my gas price for the next 12 months.  In some respects the timing for this looks ideal.  Commodity natural gas prices haven't been lower than this year's average since 1999.  Gas is also historically cheap relative to other fuels.  Heating oil...[read more]

Students tell me they like real world context for quiz questions.  So, students of Env-Econ, here you go:  Using the basic tools of supply and demand described here, predict the effect of a recession (decreased income for consumers) combined with increasing supplies on the price of natural gas in Ohio. Read...[read more]

Michael Giberson From the Globe and Mail: Last year, the continental U.S. saw its natural gas production grow by 10 per cent to 55 billion cubic feet a day, powered by huge production increases from shale gas plays like the Marcellus, Haynesville in Louisiana and Texas’s Barnett field. In Canada, gas production actually declined by...[read more]