Tag: 2020
IHS: Natural Gas Prices Will Fall Below $2/MMBtu in 2020
The post IHS: Natural Gas Prices Will Fall Below $ 2/MMBtu in 2020 appeared first on POWER Magazine.
Average natural gas prices at Henry Hub in 2020 could fall to below $ 2/MMBtu —a level “not seen in decades”—owing to a persistent oversupply, a new report from information and analytics firm IHS Markit suggests.
Prices could fall despite strong demand for natural gas, both domestically, including for power generation, as well as for exports. Demand for gas has increased 14 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) annually on average over the past two years, and the U.S. is expected to export an additional 3 Bcf/d of liquified natural gas (LNG) in 2020. IHS forecasts that nearly all growth in U.S. natural gas demand over the next few years will come from LNG exports to other countries.
Production, however, has grown by more than 14 Bcf/d since January 2018, and IHS Markit expects production will average more than 90 Bcf/d in 2019 and 2020.…
Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant Will Close in 2020
NextEra Energy Resources, the wholesale power generating subsidiary of Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc., announced that it has struck a deal to shorten its power purchase agreement (PPA) with Alliant Energy and will retire the Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC)—a 615-MW nuclear power plant located in Palo, Iowa—before the end of 2020.
DAEC’s reactor is licensed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to operate until February 21, 2034, but it was expected to close in 2025 when the PPA with Alliant was originally slated to expire. If the agreement to cut five years from the term is approved by the Iowa Utilities Board, Alliant would pay NextEra $ 110 million in September 2020 as part of the buyout. Furthermore, NextEra would supply Alliant’s customers with wind energy from four of its repowered Iowa wind facilities—about 340 MW of combined capacity—under other PPAs. The transactions are expected to save customers nearly $ 300 million in energy costs, on a net present value basis, over 21 years, according to NextEra.…
Germany’s New Coalition Government Agrees to Phase Out Coal, but Will Miss 2020 Emissions Targets
Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) members agreed to join their longtime rival and governing partner, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and reluctantly entered into a third grand coalition government on March 4. While this ended months of anxious handwringing following September’s national elections, the entire process was mired in frustration as the prospect of yet another coalition grew more unpopular each day.
While the only idea more unfavorable was another national election (with the fear that rightwing parties would gain even more support), at the ceremony announcing the SPD’s decision to again join the CDU, there was virtually no applause. Much like a resigned patient about to undergo chemotherapy, the general mood among both SPD and CDU party members (and the general population) was one of begrudging willingness without any marked enthusiasm. Following years of coalition experience behind them, neither party seemed excited to rejoin the partnership and, its fair to say, the new ruling coalition is both weaker and more unpopular now than prior to elections.…