NEI Energy Markets Report (July 10th

NEI Energy Markets Report (July 10th - 14th)

Here's a summary of what went on in the energy markets last week:

Electricity prices increased last week due primarily to hot temperatures (see pages 1 & 2). Gas prices at the Henry Hub fell $0.09 to $5.60/MMBtu, falling again to the lowest price over the past year (see page 4).
In 2006, total U.S. natural gas consumption is projected to fall below 2005 levels by 1.7 percent then increase by 4.2 percent in 2007. Electric power sector consumption of coal is projected to grow by some 0.3 percent in 2006 and by another 1.6 percent in 2007. Power sector demand for coal continues to increase in response to high natural gas and oil prices. Electricity consumption is expected to increase by 0.6 percent in 2006 and by 1.4 percent in 2007. In 2005, residential electricity prices rose an estimated 5.1 percent nationally. In 2006, these prices are expected to increase by 7.8 percent and, in 2007, by another 2.9 percent (see page 8).

For the report click here (pdf). It is also located on NEI's Nuclear Statistics webpage.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Power, Electricity, Environment, Energy, Natural Gas, Coal, Oil

Comments

David Bradish said…

No, it appears several utilities canceled some of the planned plants.

July 19, 2006 at 3:45 PM

David Bradish said…

There are more than 300 GW of coal and gas capacity each. There's about 100 GW of nuclear. Just as many cancellations have occurred for each of these technologies. It's an interesting trend.

July 22, 2006 at 11:02 AM

Anonymous said…

While I don't expect the NEI guys to comment directly, but it seems to me that the refusal of the US to bite the bullet with respect to carbon pricing is probably making it harder for utilities to make sensible investments in new capacity. Everybody knows that carbon pricing is coming. But *when* it's going to come, and *how* it's going to come, are going to make a big difference for utilities in their investment plans.

July 22, 2006 at 3:09 PM

Wednesday Update

From NEI’s Japan micro-site: NRC, Industry Concur on Many Post-Fukushima Actions Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues • There is a “great deal of alignment” between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the industry on initial steps to take at America’s nuclear energy facilities in response to the nuclear accident in Japan, Charles Pardee, the chief operating officer of Exelon Generation Co., said at an agency briefing today. The briefing gave stakeholders an opportunity to discuss staff recommendations for near-term actions the agency may take at U.S. facilities. PowerPoint slides from the meeting are on the NRC website. • The International Atomic Energy Agency board has approved a plan that calls for inspectors to evaluate reactor safety at nuclear energy facilities every three years. Governments may opt out of having their country’s facilities inspected. Also approved were plans to maintain a rapid response team of experts ready to assist facility operators recoverin...

Fluor Invests in NuScale

You know, it’s kind of sad that no one is willing to invest in nuclear energy anymore. Wait, what? NuScale Power celebrated the news of its company-saving $30 million investment from Fluor Corp. Thursday morning with a press conference in Washington, D.C. Fluor is a design, engineering and construction company involved with some 20 plants in the 70s and 80s, but it has not held interest in a nuclear energy company until now. Fluor, which has deep roots in the nuclear industry, is betting big on small-scale nuclear energy with its NuScale investment. "It's become a serious contender in the last decade or so," John Hopkins, [Fluor’s group president in charge of new ventures], said. And that brings us to NuScale, which had run into some dark days – maybe not as dark as, say, Solyndra, but dire enough : Earlier this year, the Securities Exchange Commission filed an action against NuScale's lead investor, The Michael Kenwood Group. The firm "misap...

Activists' Claims Distort Facts about Advanced Reactor Design

Below is from our rapid response team . Yesterday, regional anti-nuclear organizations asked federal nuclear energy regulators to launch an investigation into what it claims are “newly identified flaws” in Westinghouse’s advanced reactor design, the AP1000. During a teleconference releasing a report on the subject, participants urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend license reviews of proposed AP1000 reactors. In its news release, even the groups making these allegations provide conflicting information on its findings. In one instance, the groups cite “dozens of corrosion holes” at reactor vessels and in another says that eight holes have been documented. In all cases, there is another containment mechanism that would provide a barrier to radiation release. Below, we examine why these claims are unwarranted and why the AP1000 design certification process should continue as designated by the NRC. Myth: In the AP1000 reactor design, the gap between the shield bu...

NEI Nuclear Notes

Search This Blog