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Introduction
Introduction
U.S. Energy Information Administration provides various kinds of data on energy production, utilization, prices, stocks, demand, imports, exports to promote public understanding of energy and its interaction with the economy and the environment. This webpage focuses on various aspects like electricity consumption of the United States when compared to the other parts of the world, statewide utilization and production, revenues, various natural resources used to generate the electricity. This webpage also illustrates the various conclusions that are drawn from the visualizations.
United States and the Rest of the World
United States and the Rest of the World
In the early 2000s, the U.S. being one of the most developed countries in the world, consumed more electricity. Later, due to increase in population and outsourcing in manufacturing, countries like China and India started consuming more electricity. Although Russia and Japan are 9th and 11th respectively in the world in terms of population, their technological developments are more likely to be the reason why they started consuming more electricity over time.
Electricity Consumption in U.S.
Electricity Consumption in U.S.
State wide Electricity Consumption over the Years
State wide Electricity Consumption over the Years
Over the years, due to the advancements in technology and more industries being set up in the country, we can see that there is an increase in consumption in every state. Since Texas, California and Florida have the highest population in the U.S, they also consume more electricity. Similarly, since Vermont, Alaska and Hawaii have less population, their electricity consumption is low.
Consumption of Electricity in Various Sectors
Consumption of Electricity in Various Sectors
Since the population in the U.S. has only increased by approximately 8% from 2010 to 2020, the increase in residential sales hasn’t increased a lot. Due to Covid-19, there is an increase in residential sales from 2019 to 2020 because more people stayed at home. Unlike residential sales, the transportation, industrial and commercial sectors were negatively affected by Covid-19, therefore there was a decline in the electricity sales in these sectors due to less movement and restrictions.
Where is the Electricity Coming From?
Where is the Electricity Coming From?
The main reason behind performing the analysis starting from the year 2010 is they have restructured the categories, for example, Petroleum Coke was included in other gases, while it is now mentioned as a separate identity.
Until 2014, coal used to be the major source of electricity generation, however from the year 2015 the usage of coal to generate electricity has decreased drastically over the years. Natural gas and a few other renewable energy sources have replaced coal in producing electricity in the United States.
Production Vs. Consumption of Electricity by States
Production Vs. Consumption of Electricity by States
The production in states like Texas, California, and Florida is high due to its population, and it's easier to set up a power plant closer to such a demand since the distribution cost would be less. Pennsylvania on the other hand also produces a lot of electricity, despite a lower population and consumption rate, because it's the third-highest coal-producing state and it would be easier to produce electricity close to it and then distribute it. States like Vermont, Alaska, and the District of Columbia have produced less and also consumed less electricity because they are small states with low populations.
Hazardous Emissions Caused in the Process of Generating Electricity
Hazardous Emissions Caused in the Process of Generating Electricity
When electricity is generated, there are few materials that emit hazardous gases in the process of generating electricity. From the below graphs, we could see that coal and natural gas are the two major contributing substances for the emissions of Nitrogen oxide, Sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide.
We could see a peak in nitrogen oxide emission in the year 2014. The reason behind such high emission of those gases in that particular year is the high usage of petroleum liquids for electricity generation. In almost all the graphs we could observe that the emissions have reduced in recent years which is a good sign.
The major reason behind such a decrease in emissions is the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy to produce electricity. We will see more about renewable sources and their contribution to generating electricity in the next session.
Evolution of Renewable Energy Sources
Evolution of Renewable Energy Sources
Considering the environmental damages caused by the fuels, renewable energy sources got a prominent significance, and over the years the research to convert the natural resources to power has also advanced predominantly.
Hydroelectric is the oldest widely-used natural resource in the U.S. though there are a few ups and downs in the graph, it still stands out and contributes majorly to generating electricity when compared to many other renewable sources.
Wind energy has grown exponentially in the United States of America and in 2020 it holds a share of 8.4% of total U.S. electricity generation and 43% of electricity generation among renewable energy.
Solar energy is slowly increasing its contribution. Though the technology to convert solar energy to power is advanced, we suspect that the climatic conditions in the country are the major reason for its slow growth. We will look more into solar energy shortly.
Solar Energy and its Growth
Solar Energy and its Growth
The two important terms to know before we draw conclusions are "Utility" and "Distributed" solar electricity generation. Utility-scale generation is the bigger projects (20MW+) that generated and sold electricity to wholesale buyers, while Distributed energy involves small projects that generate and consume the energy for their own purposes, like residential homeowners, etc.
It is indeed a good sign to see that both the fields are contributing extensively and their growth rate is also increasing over the years. Though the solar energy industry had good advancements, we suspect that the climatic conditions in the country could be the major reason for such slow growth.
Change of Electricity Prices over the Years
Change of Electricity Prices over the Years
The average price of electricity for industries is mainly cheaper since it’s easier to supply electricity to a single customer with a certain demand. That way the profit margins would be higher for electricity-providing companies. The average prices for the transportation sector became lesser after 2014, due to the government and private companies subsidizing electricity prices to promote renewable energy usage. The average price for the commercial sector hasn’t changed much since there hasn't been much change in this sector as a whole. The residential sector has the highest prices since distribution and installation cost is higher and also because prices of non-renewable energy have increased over time.
Energy Efficiency
Energy Efficiency
As we speak of the consumption and generation of electricity, using that electricity efficiently is also an important thing. Utilities have introduced various programs to encourage their customers to use energy efficiently. Using energy efficiently includes using low consumption devices, switching off items when they are not in use, etc.
The first visualization below shows the amount of electricity saved by using electricity efficiently. Of all the categories, residential has contributed and used efficiently when compared to commercial and industrial usage of power.
As part of such energy-saving programs, utilities provide few incentives to customers in order to encourage them because of which utilities will be able to manage the demand during peak duration, and on the other hand customers will be benefitted from the incentives given by the energy providers. The second visualization illustrates the number of dollars customers have been benefitted from this program.
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