DOE report shows US used less energy in 2009

According to a recent announcement from DOE, the United States used significantly more wind power and less fossil fuels in 2009 than in 2008. The report was released on August 23 by DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). There also was a decline in natural gas use and increases in solar energy, hydropower, and geothermal power, LLNL's most recent energy flow charts showed. The estimated U.S. energy use in 2009 equaled 94.6 quadrillion Btu ("quads"), down from 99.2 quads in 2008. (A Btu or British thermal unit is a unit of measurement for energy and is equivalent to about 1.055 kilojoules). The average American household uses about 95 million Btu per year. Wind power increased to .70 quads of primary energy in 2009 compared to .51 quads in 2008, most of which was tied to tied directly to electricity generation, helping decrease coal-fired electricity production. See the LLNL press release and annotated report (PDF 853 KB).

This is a 5% decrease in energy usage in one year - which is roughly equal to the energy used by 50 million households in a year. At this rate, US could lead the way in GHG reduction for the rest of the world. Given the fact that we have just begun with the efficiency, DSM and renewables programs, utilities could make a major impact on over reduction in energy consumption as they ramp up their programs in the coming years.