Direct Links to the Week's Top Stories in Energy

It has been a busy week in energy. We've tracked down and rounded up some of this week's top energy stories. 

Here are the articles that caught our eye. 

EIA: Renewables Share of North America Electricity Mix Expected to Rise

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that the North American share of renewable and nuclear power generation will grow from 38 percent in 2015 to 45 percent by 2025. This projection assumes the Clean Power Plan will be upheld and go into take effect. Canada, Mexico and the U.S. recently established a goal of 50 percent clean electricity generation by 2025.

Utility Dive: New York PSC Approves 50% Clean Energy Standard, Nuclear Subsidies

On Monday, New York regulators approved a Clean Energy Standard that requires the state to get half of its power generation from renewable sources by 2030 and guarantees income for three of the state's nuclear power plants. New York has set a rapid implementation timeline, requiring utilities and energy service companies to begin serving 26.31 percent renewable energy by 2017 and 30.54 percent by 2021.

Natural gas prices spiked before ending slightly lower on Thursday despite a new EIA report showing that gas inventories declined for the first time in a summer week since 2006. According to the report, natural gas storage levels decreased by 6 billion cubic feet (bcf) in the week ending July 29, which was an unexpected result for many analysts that projected inventories would slightly grow. 

Greentech Media: 5 Trends That Will Shape the Global Solar Market for the Rest of the Year

According to a new GTM Research report, global solar installations are expected to increase 43 percent this year, growing to a total 73 gigawatts worldwide. The first half of this year saw a major spike in demand driven by unprecedented installations in China and the United Kingdom due to declining or expiring incentives. The U.S. installed its millionth solar system earlier this year, which further solidified the market’s #2 position. 

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