US natural gas prices have trended lower since the summer, but homeowners will likely pay slightly more for the heating fuel than last winter. “For consumers, prices will be about 6.8% higher than last winter, as gas utilities sell more expensive fuel they bought in the spring and summer, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. But it could have been a lot worse. The EIA’s latest forecast for six months of residential prices dropped from what it had predicted in June.” [Wall Street Journal]

A recent report that found the Texas wind power industry to be a “strain on taxpayer dollars,” has fired up renewable energy advocates and drawn attention to oil and gas tax provisions. “People ask me, when are we going to cut the subsidies for renewables?” said Michael E. Webber, deputy director of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. “I say, probably the same day we cut the subsidies for oil and gas, which is never.” [Texas Tribune via New York Times]

The number of renewable energy systems – led by solar PV – that applied for net metering permits in Vermont dramatically increased over the past several years. However, renewable power generation capacity is growing from a small base and currently accounts for a relatively small portion of the state’s overall energy portfolio. “But while the growth has been rapid, 64 MW of net metered systems represents ‘a small fraction of Vermont’s overall electrical portfolio,’ the report noted. ‘If all permitted and constructed, net metered systems to date would produce less than 2% of the electric energy Vermont uses each year or approximately 80 GWh per year.’” [Utility Dive]