USA: Energy use is way down (5% yoy) - but wind surges

[phantom power]

I wonder if I should have posted in the economy forum -- a 5% drop is a huge indicator of economic recession.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Energy use in the United States fell nearly 5% last year, marking the largest annual drop on record, according to an analysis of federal data by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Total U.S. energy use fell in 2009 to an estimated 94.6 quadrillion British Thermal Units, down from 99.2 quadrillion BTUs in 2008. To put that in perspective, the average room air conditioner uses about 10,000 BTUs.

This was the largest year-over-year drop since the government began keeping track in 1949, said A.J. Simon, an energy analyst at LLNL.

"Energy use tends to follow the level of economic activity, and that level declined last year," he said. "Simply said, people are doing less stuff. Therefore, they're burning less fuel."

http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/26/news/economy/energy_use/index.htm

[DCKit]

1. Wider adoption of CFLs and conservation?

It may be GOOD news.

[phantom power]

2. It's economic collapse.

Everything else is rounding error.

[NNadir]

5. Ding! Ding! Ding! They do great energy conservation in Bangladesh.

Their per capita consumption is just great.

[jpak]

7. Here in Maine, virtually all the new cars I see on the road are fuel efficient

I see Priuses an New Ford Focuses everywhere (as well as Corollas, Fits, Versas, Jettas, Cobalts, Aveos etc.) . People have dumped their gas guzzlers.

Efficiency Maine is weatherizing Maine homes (up to $4500 in rebates per home).

http://www.efficiencymaine.com/at-home/hesp_program

Thanks to Stimulus $$$ and Efficiency Maine, I see new small wind turbines and new solar installations all over the state.

http://www.efficiencymaine.com/renewable-energy

Homeowners and business have installed thousands of new pellet stoves, pellet boilers and wood stoves over the last two years.

$4 a gallon gas an heating oil was a prime motivator for change in my state - and fossil energy use has declined.

The meme that conservation is a bad thing is so pre-January 2009....

:D

[NNadir]

8. Thanks for tell us what's going on in the provinces. Very interesting.

They don't have a car CULTure in Bangladesh, nor in Mali.

I doubt fuel efficient cars will have very much impact on their lives.

[northernlights]

3. last winter I kept my house set at

53 degrees. As long as my pet birds were not all puffed up, that was where the thermostat stayed. I wore a double layer of sweats plus a hat -- even to bed. We also had a record warm and short winter, never getting below zero in my neck of the Maine woods. As a result, my oil use was cut by at least 1/3, maybe 40%. I also cut back on showers to every other day, with birdbaths between, and minimal cooking, instead cooking large batches, freezing and reheating in the microwave. That cut my propane use by about 1/3.

This summer I cut back further with my investment in a solar hotpot cooker. I cut even further back on showers, swimming with my dogs in the nearby pond several times a week, so I only shower about 2x per week. This has cut my propane use in half.

2 winters ago, the local oil industry robbed me of at least $1K with warnings of $7/gallon heating oil. They tricked me into joining a coop, where we happily locked in at $3.75/gallon. Only to watch oil plummet to $1.50/gallon. Now I'm getting back at them...for good.

[diane in sf]

4. I recommend your post! If you own you may think about solar preheating, it can

lower the gas bills even in the winter. My friend built a black painted glass-topped (45 degree angled top) box on the south side of his house and ran a bunch of black painted pipes thru there to preheat before the tank water heater--it was cheap and easy and it works very well.

[northernlights]

6. I was sorry not to be able to switch to solar hot water heating last year

when my hot water tank went. This year there are signs everywhere advertising it. But I probably wouldn't have been able to afford it at the time -- I ended up flat broke and having to sell costume jewelry to buy food. I have 2 large maples and some kind of pine of other on the south side of my house, so putting in solar will entail taking down trees and major renovations to an antique. Doable someday, but unfortunately not now.

If and when I get back on my feet, I'll probably start with a small windmill. There's one around the corner from me. We have wind almost year round up here, near the coast.