Daily Dose:  Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Solar Success - A Story Of Incremental Improvements​
Since 1975, the cost of photovoltaic solar panel has declined by roughly 99%.  There hadn’t been a single big breakthrough that made solar panels cheaper. Instead, an array of small improvements added up over time:
  • scientists in labs were steadily able to boost the efficiency of the panels themselves; 
  • manufacturers also found ways to use less silicon per panel by improving production techniques; 
  • solar factories got progressively larger and were able to cut costs through automation and better quality control.
AES provides access to the peer reviewed article.
Daily Dose:  Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Qatar Announces It Will Withdraw from OPEC This Month
 The State of Qatar gave notice of its intention to withdraw as a Member from OPEC, effective January 2019. 
Qatar will be only the second country after Indonesia, and the first from the Middle East, to voluntarily leave OPEC since its founding in 1960.
Qatar is the world’s biggest exporter of liquified natural gas, and claims that the decision to leave OPEC  was driven by a desire to increase its natural gas production further, from 77 million tonnes to 110 million per year.  However, some commentators believe Qatar may be leaving the bloc for diplomatic reasons.  For the past two years, the country has been embroiled in a bitter diplomatic dispute with Saudi Arabia and has been the subject of boycotts by some Arab neighbors over allegations that the Qatar state officials have been funneling money to support terrorist activities in the Middle East.
Daily Dose:  Monday, January 21, 2019

States in the West and Northeast account for 64% of national spending on electricity efficiency programs, while states in the South and Midwest account for 36% (AES asks expert Members if they know of a study that offers a per capita comparison):
  • West: $2.0 billion
  • Northeast: $1.7 billion
  • Midwest: $1.1 billion
  • South: $1.0 billion
Daily Dose:  Friday, January 18, 2019

Energy records, 2018

A number of new energy records were set last year:
  1. U.S. Oil Production.  United States crude oil production topped out at a record 10.7 million barrels per day, putting the country firmly among world leaders, Saudi Arabia and Russia. It’s the first time since 1970 that the United States has reached such high levels, and the EIA projects we could reach up to 11 million barrels per day by the end of 2019, pushing the U.S. into the number one producing spot. 
  2. U.S. Natural Gas Production.  In terms of domestic natural gas production, the U.S. finished 2018 averaging close to 81 billion cubic feet per day, up almost 10 percent from 2017, an all-time record in the U.S. Last record setting year as natural gas king could be short-lived, however, as production this year will surpass last year’s record (AES expert Members project that 83-84 billion cubic feet of natural gas will be produced by the U.S. in 2019).  
  3. United States Energy Prices.  There’s ample supply of natural gas in the U.S. at around $3.00 – 3.50 MMBtu. This price works in just about every market in the world when you add transport costs.  
  4. The U.S. Energy Market of the Future.  Given the remarkable rate in which the U.S. is producing oil and gas in the past few years, it is reasonable to anticipate that the United States will be a net energy exporter by 2020.
Daily Dose:  Thursday, January 17, 2019

Commercial supplies of HA-LEU needed to enable advanced reactors
​The US Department of Energy is moving forward with the development of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HA-LEU), which will be needed to fuel many advanced nuclear reactors that are currently in development.  The three-year $115 million development project will take place at a production facility in Ohio (right).  Currently, HA-LEU in commercial supply is only produced in Russia and not in the U.S.  Both parties in Congress strongly support HA-LEU production, providing funds in various spending packages and stand-alone legislation.  AES provides access to a true and correct copy of the FedOpsBiz statement.
Daily Dose:  Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Drivers in Mexico are facing around-the-block queues to buy gasoline - the whole scene is eerily reminiscent of the U.S. gasoline crises in the 1970s.
Featured Daily Dose - Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Solar Has A History
In 1836, John Etzler wrote a pamphlet titled: "The paradise within the reach of all men, without labour, by powers of nature and machinery: an address to all intelligent men." 

In this pamphlet Mr. Etzler proposes "to build massive solar power plants that use mirrors to concentrate sunlight on boilers and mile-long wind farms."

AES is pleased to provide access to a true and correct digital copy of the pamphlet.  
Daily Dose - Monday, January 14, 2019

The Top-10 Issues To Watch In 2019
By AES Expert-Member FRANK MAISANO  of Bracewell.
  1. House Democrats have a "climate" focus – As Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, it is clear that they will make climate change a priority issue.  
  2. Discussions on the Green New Deal and Carbon Taxes – With Climate in the forefront, the new hot topic is what to do and the item du jour is the Green New Deal, a battle point between parties and also internally among Democrats.  
  3. 2020 Presidential politics – With potential candidates like Elizabeth Warren, Jay Inslee and Michael Bloomberg announcing their Presidential aspirations, there is some early speculation that climate issues may rise above the usual din to make a splash in the 2020 race.  However, don't be surprised if the climate issue fades away as the election gets near.  
  4. HFC reductions go into effect, but the US hasn't committed – The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol will reduce the projected production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by more than 80% over the next 30 years. Republicans and Democrats support the Kigali Amendment. 
  5. Energy Infrastructure Hits a Key Moment – Since oil prices (and gas prices) remain low and production remains high, many shale companies are considering slowing production, mainly because there is an infrastructure question.   
  6. Ethanol, Ethanol, Ethanol – As if this fight would ever go away or into the background, 2019 will be another interesting year over the issue of ethanol.   
  7. Nuclear Power at Vogtle, Finally – The first nuclear power plant units in the US are getting closer to completion despite all the challenges it has faced.   
  8. Solar and wind continue to make an impact with utilities – The solar and wind industries will continue to make a strong move in the marketplace in 2019.   
  9. Electric- and autonomous vehicle and CAFE fights are heating up – There is a burgeoning fight in the policy world over EVs, AVs, and our current oil-based transportation economy.  
  10. Rightsizing or Rollbacks – Enviro activists call them roll backs, conservatives call it right-sizing; either way, the Obama Administration regulatory agenda will get a lot of attention from the current administration in the final two years of this first term.  

The Energy Year In Review
Monthly highlights

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