Our top analysis from 2024 - The Year in Energy

March 11: United States produces more crude oil than any country, ever

The United States produced more crude oil than any nation at any time for the past six years in a row. Crude oil production in the United States averaged 12.9 million barrels per day in 2023, breaking the previous U.S. and global record of 12.3 million barrels per day, set in 2019.

The crude oil production record in the United States in 2023 is unlikely to be broken in any other country in the near term because no other country has reached production capacity of 13.0 million barrels per day.

Read the full article on Today in Energy.

February 26: Solar and battery storage to make up 81% of new U.S. electric-generating capacity in 2024

Developers and power plant owners plan to add 62.8 gigawatts of new utility-scale electric-generating capacity in 2024. This addition would be 55% more added capacity than the 40.4 GW added in 2023 (the most since 2003) and points to a continued rise in industry activity. We expect solar to account for the largest share of new capacity in 2024, at 58%, followed by battery storage, at 23%.

Read the full article on Today in Energy.

August 26: U.S. share of electric and hybrid vehicle sales increased in the second quarter of 2024

The share of electric and hybrid vehicle sales in the United States increased in the second quarter of 2024 (2Q24) after a slight decline in 1Q24. Combined U.S. sales of hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and battery electric vehicles increased from 17.8% of total new light-duty vehicle sales in 1Q24 to 18.7% in 2Q24, according to estimates from Wards Intelligence.

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September 3: North America’s LNG export capacity is on track to more than double by 2028

North America’s liquefied natural gas export capacity is on track to more than double between 2024 and 2028, from 11.4 billion cubic feet per day in 2023 to 24.4 billion cubic feet per day in 2028, if projects currently under construction begin operations as planned. Between 2024 and 2028, we estimate LNG export capacity will grow by 0.8 billion cubic feet per day in Mexico, 2.5 billion cubic feet per day in Canada, and 9.7 billion cubic feet per day in the United States from a total of 10 new projects that are currently under construction in the three countries.

Read the full article in Today in Energy.

June 26: U.S. energy production exceeded consumption by record amount in 2023

In 2023, energy production in the United States rose 4% to nearly 103 quadrillion British thermal units, or quads, a record. Energy consumption in the United States fell 1% to 94 quads during the same period. Production exceeded consumption by 9 quads, more than at any other time in our records, which date to 1949.

Read the full article in Today in Energy.

June 28: Commercial electricity demand grew fastest in states with rapid computing facility growth

Consumption of electricity in the U.S. commercial sector has recovered from pandemic levels, with annual U.S. sales of electricity to commercial customers in 2023 totaling 14 billion kilowatthours, or 1%, more than in 2019. However, the growth in commercial demand for electricity is concentrated in a handful of states experiencing rapid development of large-scale computing facilities such as data centers. Electricity demand has grown the most in Virginia, which added 14 billion kilowatthours, and Texas, which added 13 billion kilowatthours.

Read the full article on Today in Energy.

April 16: China imported record amounts of crude oil in 2023

China, the world’s largest importer of crude oil, imported 11.3 million barrels per day of crude oil in 2023, 10% more than in 2022, according to China customs data. Refiners in China imported record volumes of crude oil in 2023 to supply the country’s increasing refining capacity in order to support the country’s transportation fuel needs and produce feedstocks for its growing petrochemical industry.

Read the full article on Today in Energy.