Direct Links to the Week's Top Stories in Energy

From rising natural gas prices to growing renewable power generation, there were some major energy stories this week.

Here are some of the articles we're currently reading. 

EIA: U.S. Natural Gas Exports to Mexico Continue to Grow

U.S. pipeline exports of natural gas continued to grow in 2016, and they have doubled since 2009. Almost all of this growth is attributable to increasing exports to Mexico, which have accounted for more than half of all U.S. natural gas exports since April 2015. In August, the United States exported 4.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas to Mexico via pipelines.

Utility Dive: Renewable Generation Composed 15% of Output Over the Last 3 Quarters

New data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that for the first three quarters of 2016, renewable energy including conventional hydro resources generated 15.1 percent of the United States power consumption. Solar power showed the greatest increase, generating 41 percent more power than it did in the same period of 2015.

Wall Street Journal: Natural Gas Continues to Rise on Falling Stockpiles

Natural-gas prices rallied Thursday as cooler forecasts raised expectations for demand and new federal data showed the amount of gas in storage is falling. Natural-gas futures for January delivery gained 15.3 cents, or 4.56%, to settle at $3.505 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Direct Energy Business: How Are Utility and Retail Provider Power Prices Different?

In deregulated electricity markets, customers may secure supply from either a utility company or retail provider. Supply service from a utility company is also known as default or provider of last resort (POLR) service. Specific naming conventions for default service vary by state. This article overviews the differences between utilities and retail providers in cost components, price setting and product offers.

Texas grid operator ERCOT announced a new record for wind on Monday. For the first time, wind provided more than 15,000 megawatts of electricity to the state on a single day. The record wind on Sunday supplied an average of 41 percent of electricity throughout the day.

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