Good News, Bad News: 4 Trends in US Energy Use

[Mike 03]

Excerpt:

In 2018, the United States set a new record for energy consumption: 101 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy. Of this total, 81 quadrillion Btu (or 80%) were from fossil fuels: petroleum, natural gas and coal.

What does this growing consumption mean for climate change, and is it still possible for the United States to get on a path to reduce emissions at the pace needed?

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1. Coal is being phased out in the United States.
Coal consumption stood at 687 million short tons (MMst) in 2018, the lowest level since the beginning of the 1980s. Coal consumption peaked in 2005 and has declined 42% since then. EIA forecasts coals consumption to fall to 567 MMst in 2020.

All signs point to a bleak outlook for coal. This is despite the Trump administration’s periodic efforts to revive a collapsing industry by pushing initiatives to keep failing coal plants open and relaxing pollution rules for coal-fired power generation.

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3. Natural gas consumption is rising steadily in the electric power sector.
U.S. natural gas consumption also set a new record in 2018: 82.1 billion cubic feet per day. Demand for natural gas increased across all sectors, primarily driven by weather-related heating and cooling needs. Natural gas consumption increased in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors by 13%, 10%, and 7% respectively, compared to 2017. However, the electric power sector saw the biggest increase: 15% over 2017.

The spike reflects an ominous trend. As more and more natural gas-fired power plants have come online, natural gas consumption by the electric power sector has increased by a whopping 82% since 2005. Compared to that, natural gas demand in industrial, commercial and residential sectors saw relatively smaller increases (at 32%, 17%, and 4%, respectively).

more at link:

https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/08/good-news-bad-news-4-trends-us-energy-use