Renewables Drive Down Gas Prices Amid Record Demand
Natural gas prices at Louisiana's Henry Hub averaged $2.93 per million British thermal units from June through August, about 6% below last year.
The surge in power demand was met largely by renewable energy, with solar generation rising 22% and wind generation 9.8% from a year earlier, while natural gas-fired generation increased just 1.8%.
In the United States, employers added just 29,000 jobs in September, well below expectations, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2% and prior-month job gains were revised downward by 60,000.
Amazon is seeking to ease growing community opposition to AI data centers, with AWS CEO Matt Garman announcing plans to invest more than $1 billion over the next five years in education, workforce training, water preservation and other local priorities.