U.S. Set to Be Net Energy Exporter as Renewables Ease Oil Use

As the rise of renewables helps keep American demand for gasoline and other petroleum products below a 2005 peak, the U.S. is set to become a net energy exporter for the first time since the 1960s in the next decade.

That’s what the Energy Information Administration projects in its Annual Energy Outlook 2017 released Jan. 5. Higher world demand for fossil fuels, lower OPEC investment in production and higher non-OPEC costs will help the U.S. sell more energy than it buys from other countries, the EIA said.

While domestic consumption is expected to remain bound to a narrow range, exports ...