Energy
Natural Gas Market Update
The above graph looks at natural gas prices going back to January 1997. Natural gas prices have retreated from the Polar Vortex bump and remain relatively low by historical standards. The prices plotted above are not adjusted for inflation. If they were in 2014 dollars, the left side of the curve would be more elevated.…
Read MoreIn The News – Avalon Energy Services
Avalon Energy Services recently completed an electricity procurement project for KBS Capital Advisors’ One Washingtonian Center property in Gaithersburg, MD. Marc Deluca, Regional President of KBS, noted that “Electricity markets have exhibited extreme volatility. The folks at Avalon Energy Services have deep expertise and an unsurpassed understanding of the energy markets and how they work.…
Read MoreCapacity Factor – Part 2
In our previous article we looked at Capacity Factor and how it differs between nuclear generation and solar PV (photovoltaic). We concluded that in order to generate the same amount of electricity as 1/3 of the capacity of the US nuclear generation fleet (33,042 MW), 154,760 MW of solar PV capacity would be required. This…
Read MoreCapacity Factor
In a recent article in the Energy Law Journal, the authors state, By as early as 2016, installed distributed solar PV capacity in the United States could reach thirty gigawatts (GW). If that forecast is on track, distributed solar generation will have increased from less than one GW in 2010 to the equivalent of nearly…
Read More40% Reduction and Volatility Avoided
Our recent press release was picked up by numerous news outlets. Click here to see how it was reported by the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch. In summary, Avalon Energy Services, LLC and our project partner, Ameresco, successfully completed a second natural gas procurement process for the District of Columbia Department of General Services (DC…
Read MoreWhat Does Volatility Look Like?
This article looks at how cold weather led to great volatility in real-time wholesale electricity prices during January 2014 in the PJM Interconnection (PJM). The month of January 2014 was the coldest in decades in the US as a Polar Vortex pushed its way into the Midwest, South, and East. Winter electricity use in the…
Read MoreWhat Does an Extended Cold Spell Look Like?
This is a follow up to our blog posted Monday evening titled “What Does a Cold Day Look Like?” and looks at the impact on real-time wholesale electricity pricing of extended cold weather. We reported that as a result of Winter Storm Hercules barreling through the Mid-West, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast last Thursday and Friday (January…
Read MoreWhat Does a Cold Day Look Like?
In previous blog posts, we have examined how weather and other events affect electricity prices. What Does a Superstorm (Sandy) Look Like? What Does a Derecho Look Like? What Does a Warm Day Look Like? What Does an Earthquake Look Like? We continue this series by looking at how electricity prices in the PJM Interconnection…
Read MoreReal Electricity Prices (Energy Prices Always Go Up, Part 5)
This article is part of an occasional series that examines the common perception that energy prices always go up. We have examined both electricity prices (read hereand here) and natural gas prices (read hereand here). An article published recently by CNSNews.com states that, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), “The price of electricity…
Read MoreMarket Update, November 6, 2013
For buyers, pricing in the wholesale natural gas market is attractive. The graph below shows natural gas prices over the past ten years. While we are not at the absolute low, we are near the bottom. The next graph shows the 24 month forward curve for natural gas. The line is upward sloping, meaning the…
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