Energy

Oil prices to rise to $51 per barrel in 2017

Brent crude oil prices are expected to be an average of $51 per barrel in 2017 and $52 per barrel in 2018, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. West…

Refinery capacity rises in 2017

U.S. atmospheric crude distillation capacity rose 1.6% to 18.6 million barrels per calendar day as of Jan. 1, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/ Calendar-day capacity is a…

EIA releases updated energy sector forecast

U.S. Energy Information Administration released its Short-Term Energy Outlook on Tuesday (July 11). The following are some of the highlights from the outlook: Benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil prices…

Small-scale solar capacity, electricity generation to increase

U.S. small-scale solar photovoltaic capacity is expected to rise 53% to 21.9 gigawatts at the end of 2018, from 14.3 gigawatts in April 2017, according to the U.S. Energy Information…

Arkansas native Colette Honorable joins global law firm Reed Smith LLP in Washington, D.C.

Arkansas native Colette D. Honorable has joined the energy and natural resources practice of Reed Smith LLP. She will work from the firm’s office in Washington, D.C. Honorable previously served…

Energy commodity prices decline 11% in first half of 2017

Prices of energy commodities on the Standard and Poor’s Goldman Sachs Commodity Index fell 11% in the first half of 2017, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It was…

Renewable power generation exceeds nuclear generation for first time in almost 33 years

Utility-scale renewable energy generators produced more electricity than nuclear plants for the first time since July 1984, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Renewable energy generation exceeded nuclear in…

Utility-scale power plants cost less to build

Construction costs for power plants have fallen recently, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Since 2013, the EIA has been collecting data on the construction costs of utility-scale generators….

Then & Now: Utilities director finds his passion in public service

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following story appeared in the June 26 issue of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. “Then & Now” is a profile of a past member of the Business Journal’s…

Clarksville utility, Scenic Hill Solar to partner on $10 million solar power plant

Add the Johnson County seat of Clarksville to the growing list of cities and companies in Arkansas investing in solar power. Once built, it will be the largest solar power…

1 million-pound ‘superload’ starts 2-day trek through Northwest Arkansas

Three big rigs began Thursday morning (June 29) to haul a 1 million-pound load, the heaviest ever permitted in Arkansas, from an electrical substation in Tontitown. The destination is only…

Capacity of fuel ethanol rises 4% in early 2017

Fuel ethanol production capacity in the United States rose 4%, or by more than 600 million gallons, to 15.5 billion gallons per year in January 2017, from the same month…

Ouachita Electric Cooperative named SEPA Electric Cooperative Utility of the Year

Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) has recognized an Arkansas organization as part of its 2017 SEPA Power Player Awards. Ouachita Electric Cooperative (OECC) of Camden was named…

U.S. petroleum exports double over past 6 years

Gross exports of U.S. crude oil and petroleum products have more than doubled, rising to 5.2 million barrels per day in 2016, from 2.4 million barrels per day in 2010,…

USGS: Increased earthquake activity tied to wastewater injection from shale play

The increasing number of earthquakes in the U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains has coincided with the spike in production by energy companies that use underground wastewater injection to extract…

U.S. coal production to flatten or fall through 2040

Coal production is expected to either remain flat or decline through 2040, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Over the past decade, coal production has fallen as the use…

Uranium production falls along with market prices, employment

Between 2014 and 2016, the amount of uranium concentrate produced in the United States decreased 40% to 2.9 million pounds U3O8, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The level…

University of Arkansas study demonstrates a better way to store renewable energy

Physicists at the University of Arkansas, in collaboration with a scientist at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, have shown that antiferroelectrics can provide high energy density. The findings,…

Oklahoma has seen a 36,400% increase in earthquakes since 2008

The number of earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains has risen sharply since 2009, according the U.S. Geological Survey. The majority of the rise can be attributed to the increase…

Grid operators SPP, MISO ready to meet peak demand for hotter-than-normal summer

Although national weather officials are predicting hotter-than-normal temperatures during the dog days of summer, grid operators across the U.S. say they are ready to meet peak demand in all regions…

UAMS, Helena Hospital announced co-management agreement

Citizens Bank names Alan Jessup COO

Survey: 35% of American workers do some or all work from home

Crenlo moves HQ to Bentonville from Minneapolis