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All U.S. Energy Consumption in a Giant Diagram

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All U.S. Energy Consumption in a Big Diagram

All U.S. Energy Consumption in a Giant Diagram

Today’s graphic is special type of flow chart, called a Sankey diagram.

This particular one shows the total estimated energy consumption in the United States in 2015, and how energy flowed from source to the final destination. The graphic comes to us from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Department of Energy.

The beauty of a Sankey is in its simplicity and and effectiveness. No information is left out, and we can really see the full energy picture from a 10,000 foot view.

Wasted Effort

The U.S. is estimated to have consumed 97.5 quads of energy in 2015.

What’s a quad? It’s equal to a quadrillion BTUs, which is roughly comparable to any of these:

  • 8,007,000,000 gallons (US) of gasoline
  • 293,071,000,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh)
  • 36,000,000 tonnes of coal
  • 970,434,000,000 cubic feet of natural gas
  • 25,200,000 tonnes of oil
  • 252,000,000 tonnes of TNT
  • 13.3 tonnes of uranium-235

It’s a lot of energy – and if you look at the diagram, you’ll see most of it is actually wasted.

It’s estimated that 59.1 quads (60.6% of all energy) is “rejected energy”, a fancy term for energy that is produced but not used in an effective way. For example, when gasoline is burned in a car, most of the energy comes off as heat instead of doing productive work (ie. turning the crank shaft). The average internal combustion engine is only 20% efficient, and people get excited even when they approach 40% efficiency.

While gas engines are horribly inefficient, so are other energy sources. If you look at electricity production on the diagram, you’ll see that 67% of all energy going to generate electricity is wasted.

It’s the laws of physics, but there are still many areas for improvement to increase this efficiency.

A Long Way to Go for Green Energy

As we explained in Part 2 of our Battery Series, there are still some big obstacles to overcome for green energy, batteries, and energy storage.

By looking at all energy use (including non-electrical energy used in automobiles, industrial, etc.), this diagram helps put things in even more perspective. To make a big impact, green energy not only has to make inroads in electrical generation, but it also has to supplant the 25.4 quads of energy being used in the automotive sector. This is why projects like the massive Tesla Gigafactory 1 are such a big deal. If Elon Musk is successful in his mission, the whole diagram and our energy mix would change dramatically.

For now, however, green is still a blip on the radar. Looking at total energy consumption in 2015, solar only accounted for 0.53 quads of energy. Meanwhile, wind accounted for 1.82 quads.

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Maps

Mapped: Renewable Energy and Battery Installations in the U.S. in 2023

This graphic describes new U.S. renewable energy installations by state along with nameplate capacity, planned to come online in 2023.

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Renewable and Battery Installations in the U.S. in 2023

This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on real assets and resource megatrends each week.

Renewable energy, in particular solar power, is set to shine in 2023. This year, the U.S. plans to get over 80% of its new energy installations from sources like battery, solar, and wind.

The above map uses data from EIA to highlight planned U.S. renewable energy and battery storage installations by state for 2023.

Total U.S. renewable energy and battery installations, broken down by share

Texas and California Leading in Renewable Energy

Nearly every state in the U.S. has plans to produce new clean energy in 2023, but it’s not a surprise to see the two most populous states in the lead of the pack.

Even though the majority of its power comes from natural gas, Texas currently leads the U.S. in planned renewable energy installations. The state also has plans to power nearly 900,000 homes using new wind energy.

California is second, which could be partially attributable to the passing of Title 24, an energy code that makes it compulsory for new buildings to have the equipment necessary to allow the easy installation of solar panels, battery storage, and EV charging.

New solar power in the U.S. isn’t just coming from places like Texas and California. In 2023, Ohio will add 1,917 MW of new nameplate solar capacity, with Nevada and Colorado not far behind.

Top 10 StatesBattery (MW)Solar (MW)Wind (MW)Total (MW)
Texas1,9816,4621,94110,385
California4,5554,2931238,970
Nevada6781,59602,274
Ohio121,91751,934
Colorado2301,1872001,617
New York585095591,125
Wisconsin4939921,034
Florida39780980
Kansas00843843
Illinois0363477840

The state of New York is also looking to become one of the nation’s leading renewable energy providers. The New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) is making real strides towards this objective with 11% of the nation’s new wind power projects expected to come online in 2023.

According to the data, New Hampshire is the only state in the U.S. that has no new utility-scale renewable energy installations planned for 2023. However, the state does have plans for a massive hydroelectric plant that should come online in 2024.

Decarbonizing Energy

Renewable energy is considered essential to reduce global warming and CO2 emissions.

In line with the efforts by each state to build new renewable installations, the Biden administration has set a goal of achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and a net zero emissions economy by no later than 2050.

The EIA forecasts the share of U.S. electricity generation from renewable sources rising from 22% in 2022 to 23% in 2023 and to 26% in 2024.

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