TOPIC 'Environment' on Aug 03, 2009 (CEST)
Energy Consumption in US Drops, Renwables Icrease
Energy consumption in the US dropped slightly from 2007 to 2008, with more energy coming from renewable sources, according to a study by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The decline of about two percent overall was primarily due to the economic slowdown and historically high gasoline prices in the summer. However, changes in energy policy, particularly in requirements for ethanol additives and increasing wind turbines gave renewable energy a bigger slice of the overall pie.
Overall, the United States consumed 101.5 quadrillion BTU, (or “Quads”, in 2007 and only 99.2 Quads in 2008. A Quad is a measure of energy related to the amount of heat any given source could produce.
Renewable energy amounted to 7.28 Quads of the overall total, up from 6.93 in 2007. The most significant type of renewable energy is biomass, which includes corn that is turned into ethanol and wood that is burned for electricity.
“This is a good snapshot of what's going on in the country. Some of the year-to year changes in supply and consumption can be traced to factors such as the economy and energy policy,” according to A.J. Simon, an Lawrence Livermore energy systems analyst.
The largest single source of all energy is petroleum at 37.13 Quads. Seventy percent of this goes into transportation, providing the fuel for cars, trucks and trains. Transportation overall consumed 27.86 Quads of energy in 2008.
Most of the energy consumed, 57.07 Quads, went into what is called “Rejected Energy” or energy that is lost to inefficiencies inherent in the system. The reasons why Rejected Energy is so significant are as varied as many ways that we consume energy, and are found across all uses.
Simon sees this as an opportunity. “I'm really excited about the renewed push for energy efficiency in this country, because once that energy is rejected, it's no longer useful,” he said. “More efficient power plants, automobiles and even light bulbs really do reject less energy while providing the same energy services.”
Pressures from the economy and a push to increase energy efficiency are expected to continue the trends seen in this report into 2009.
Jason Grace
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