U.S. NEW ENERGY USE UP, ENERGY USE DOWN

U.S. energy use fell in 2008
Steven E.F. Brown, July 28, 2009 (SF Business Times via Business Journal of Milwaukee)

"Americans used less energy overall in 2008, according to a new report, and more of that energy came from renewable sources.

"The report from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory says the United States used 99.2 quadrillion BTUs, or “quads” of energy in 2008, down from 101.5 quads in 2007…Use of energy in the transport and industrial sectors of the economy fell slightly, while residential and business usage climbed slightly."

click thru for the LBNL report

"Usage of “green” or renewable sources grew, with the largest chunk of that coming from hydroelectric generation. Hydroelectric sources made up [2.4 quads and] 34 percent of renewable energy generated in the United States last year…Wood was the second most-used renewable source in the country last year, followed by biofuels, wind, waste, geothermal and finally, solar generation…

"Though photovoltaic solar power is a popular field right now…[it] is a tiny fraction of overall U.S. power generation. Of the 99.2 quads of energy used in 2008, just 0.091 — less than 1/10 of 1 percent — came from solar sources. That’s an increase, though from 0.081 quads of solar energy in 2007."

click thru for the LBNL report

"Coal provided 23.9 quads in 2008, up from 23.5 in 2007…Nuclear power provided 8.5 quads in both 2008 and 2007. The number of nuclear generators in the country, which the DOE refers to as “units,” has remained steady at 104 for the last decade…

"A.J. Simon, an energy analyst at Livermore Lab, said some of the changes in U.S. energy use and generation can be linked to the economic downturn, but also to energy policy…Wind power [has] grown, Simon said, because of large investments in wind turbine technology and better use of the already existing wind generators…"