FuelFix reports: The U.S. Department of Energy expects the capacity of natural gas-fired power plants to grow over the next two years, despite rising costs of natural gas. The use of natural gas to generate electricity continues to grow while the use of coal declines, as it has over the past five years, according to the Energy Department. Low natural gas prices in 2016 and federal environmental regulations meant to curb emissions from coal-fired power plants have driven the country’s shift to natural-gas. Most of the nation’s new natural gas-fired power plants are getting built in Texas and the Mid-Atlantic states, where the country’s biggest natural gas shale plays are. Last year, natural gas prices were the lowest since 1999, a price plunge in part driven by technology that unlocked previously unreachable reserves of natural gas in shale formations.. The Energy Department expects natural gas prices to rise in 2017 and 2018, as demand during a colder than average winter depletes natural gas in storage. For more visit fuelfix.com or click the following link http://bit.ly/2joRr4A

Investing. com reports: U.S. natural gas futures declined on Monday, starting the week off with heavy losses as forecasts showing cold weather receding in key regions in the U.S. during the next few weeks dampened demand for the heating fuel. Natural gas markets have been volatile in recent weeks, changing course rapidly in response to shifting outlooks in short-term weather patterns. Meanwhile, market participants looked ahead to weekly storage data due on Thursday, which is expected to show a draw in a range between 83 and 94 billion cubic feet in the week ended January 27. For more on this story visit investing.com or click the following link http://bit.ly/2kMg4Z8