I saw a very interesting graphic several days ago that shows the most consumed fuel in every state in the US:
Image Credit: Movoto
In 49 of 50 states, fossil fuels were the most consumed fuel. South Carolina was the single exception, where nuclear power was the most consumed fuel.
Coal consumption predominates in coal-producing states like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Wyoming, while unsurprisingly oil is the most consumed fuel in Texas. In fact, oil is the most consumed fuel in more than half of the US (although Michigan seems to be broken into North and South Michigan), including in states that we typically identify as the “greenest.”
Despite the inroads made by renewable energy in recent years, I suspect it’s going to be a while before you see renewable power make an appearance on a graphic like this. Actually that may not be true in some states with significant hydropower, where that already makes up a significant fraction of electrical generation.
Plantagenet on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 11:40 am
Surprising to see so much coal still be used. Obama’s new climate change proposals should finally bring about the “war on coal” that will reduce US coal consumption and CO2 production.
Mike999 on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 11:49 am
Solar now down to 5 cent per kWh in the US southwest. If our coal industry CEO’s don’t get it, that’s it’s not Obama, and it’s not 1899, if they do not transition to Solar Now, they will go Bankrupt.
Oh Wait, they already are.
ghung on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 11:58 am
Solar is the most ‘consumed’ energy source, it’s just not human-produced and isn’t considered a fuel. Indeed, much of the solar my home utilizes by-passes the archaic fuel stage entirely.
frankthetank on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 12:25 pm
Give it time. Those black and red states (oil/gas) will turn yellow (coal)with time as those resources run low/sky rocket in price. Coal will make a big return in the long run. Wind/solar …sure..cheap, but no baseload…storage too expensive. Americans can’t handle life without AC and 55 LED tvs and iphone 6’s…
J-Gav on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 12:34 pm
But what will this look like in 20 years? Too oily to tell I guess (excuse the lousy pun).
Kenz300 on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 12:59 pm
Climate Change will impact all of us. The world needs to stop building any more coal fired power plants and begin to shut down the oldest ones.
Wind and solar power continues to grow in use around the world.
———————-
Obama Presses Chinese on Global Warming – NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/world/asia/obama-at-un-climate-summit-calls-for-vast-international-effort.html?emc=edit_th_20140924&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=21372621
rockman on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 1:11 pm
Texas may use more oil sourced energy but we are still THE coal consuming state in the country. We burn about twice as much as the #2 state and way more than any other coal producing state. And go bankrupt? LOL. They are making a very good and, for the most part, a fixed profit. Texas leads the nation BIG TIME in wind power: about as much installed capacity as the #2 and #3 states combined. And how much coal sourced energy has our wind replaced? Not 1 MW. But what wind has done is supplement our energy requirements and as a result we aren’t building any new coal plants.
And here’s another hint about coal’s (actually nastier lignite) future in Texas: they are currently building a pipeline from the second largest source of GHG in the country to carry the emissions to a 60 year old oil field where they’ll be injected. Half the boilers at this plant run on NG and the other half on lignite. And despite relatively low NG prices these days coal contracts tend to run 20 to 30 years at a predetermined price. Once the pipeline is finished the plant will go from being one of the major GHG sources in the country to producing virtually none. And can also predominantly burn coal in the future even under new fed guidelines…especially when the inevitable higher priced NG returns.
Coal is KING in Texas when it comes to electricity production. And with our huge reserves and more sequestration projects in the plan it will continue holding the throne for many decades IMHO.
Plantagenet on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 1:21 pm
I hope Texas sells a few of those CO2 sequestration systems for coal-fired power plants to India and China. Congrats to Texas for coming up with still another world-beating technology.
rockman on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 3:48 pm
Plat – Sequestration can be done by anyone anywhere. It just boils down to the cost and the motivation. In this case I’m sure Texas was motivated by potential environmental laws coming down the road. And by the fact that the Texas economy is booming and electricity demand is expected to keep soaring. And then fact that the feds are paying (I think) half of the $400 million for the pipeline helped the decision making process.
bobinget on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 7:21 pm
Does Texas import or export power to or from its own grid system? I inquired.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Proposed-power-line-could-let-Texas-share-5499678.php
By 2019 Texas will be able to export wind generated power.
bobinget on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 7:41 pm
Oh btw, NYMEX will finally be going higher due to an
inventory shortfall reported this AM.
http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/supply/weekly/pdf/highlights.pdf
(excerpt)
Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged about 19.4 million barrels per day, up by 1.5% from the same period last year. Over the last four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 8.9 million barrels per day, and remained unchanged from the same period last year. Distillate fuel product supplied averaged over 3.7 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, down by 0.2% from the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied is up 3.4% compared to the same four-week period last year.
posted note:
if one opens above link, note that gasoline production was lower DESPITE increased consumption. This Did Not result in an increase in crude inventories as would be expected. Check this out;
http://www.brooklynnewyork.com/new-york-motorists-return-to-u-s-roads-driving-more-miles-using-less-gas/
excerpt:
New York – U.S. motorists drove more miles this summer than at any time since the 2008 financial crisis, according to government data, but the cause and implications of the roadway revival may be different than in years past.
The slow recovery in total miles driven may have more to do with a resurgence in vehicle sales due to zero- or low-interest loans than a long-term return to increased driving. But some experts suggested the data may be misleading, with trends like increased telecommuting and an aging population spending less time behind the wheel.
Americans’ driving habits are a closely watched indicator for oil traders since U.S. gasoline use makes up about one-tenth of global oil demand, but consumption is still weak as fuel-economy standards rise faster than miles driven.
Motorists drove an estimated 266.8 billion miles on U.S. highways and roads in July, up 1.5 percent from the same month in the previous year, according to recent data from the Federal Highway Administration (FHA). The July figure is just shy of the 10-year high recorded in August 2007, before the Great Recession resulted in massive unemployment and forced consumers to scale back travel. Total miles typically peak in July and August for vacation travel.
bobinget on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 7:55 pm
I’m shocked at a US Stock Market non response
to our entry into World War Three.
Talk about denial!
Note that oil is almost NEVER mentioned in war news reports. True also for Nigeria and the South China Sea disputes. It seems, so called ‘safe’ oil in Canada whose production is interrupted by cold weather from time to time is also immune from positive comment and higher price rewards.
world war
noun
a war involving many large nations in all different parts of the world. The name is commonly given to the wars of 1914–18 and 1939–45, although only the second of these was truly global.
Makati1 on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 8:35 pm
“…Why are we focusing on the United States? Because Americans make up only 5% of the world’s population and yet consume 20% of its energy! That’s really extravagant! Imagine if you consumed four times more gasoline as your neighbors… or four times more food… or produced four times more garbage. Your neighbors wouldn’t be very happy! Yet, that’s what we’re doing…”
US: (2012 stats)
57.2 bbls oil equiv. annual energy use per capita.
Ratio 23:1
Philippines
2.5 bbls oil equivalent annual energy use per capita.
Who do you think is going to miss energy the most when it is gone? Even China was only 6 in US to 1 in China.
http://www.worldpopulationbalance.org/energy_china
Davy on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 8:42 pm
Imagine your neighbor on welfare with 9 kids. Imagine a country with 100MIL in the area of the state of Arizona. That sucks!
Kenz300 on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 10:08 pm
Wind, solar, wave energy, geothermal and second generation biofuels made from algae, cellulose and waste are the future. It will take time to transition. But we are in transition. The use of alternative energy sources is growing every year and getting cheaper.
Wind and solar are now very competitive with fossil fuels.
Rockefellers, Heirs to an Oil Fortune, Will Divest Charity of Fossil Fuels
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/22/us/heirs-to-an-oil-fortune-join-the-divestment-drive.html?emc=edit_th_20140922&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=21372621
rockman on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 10:18 pm
“Rockefellers, Heirs to an Oil Fortune, Will Divest Charity of Fossil Fuels”. Another way of pointing out the same dynamic: Rockefellers, Heirs to an Oil Fortune, monetize the profits they made by investing in fossil fuels when stocks were cheaper. Given the slide in oil prices and the growing debt of the pubcos it sounds like a very good business decision.
noobtube on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 10:34 pm
Americans use 57.2 barrels of oil per head??????
Holy s*it that’s a lot of energy.
If a barrel of oil weighs 306 lbs., that totals 17,500 lbs.
That’s more than 8 tons of oil per American, every single year.
The Earth has to produce 8 tons of oil every year to keep these war mongering, trash creating, Sarah Palin-loving, terrorist-obsessed, Jesus freak, scumbags alive for 1 YEAR!
1 YEAR?!?!?!?!?
Americans are way too expensive for the Earth to afford. The planet is going to have make some cutbacks, to balance its budget, and Americans look like its biggest expense.
Boat on Thu, 25th Sep 2014 5:27 am
So much for the fat lazy theory I read so much about by American bashers. It appears they work such long hrs they can afford the high price of oil and still live in their own homes instead of stacked boxes. And drive 30 miles to work. Sub divisions are booming big time in Houston. Maybe the worlds most spread out city.
Davy on Thu, 25th Sep 2014 6:00 am
Boat you have a point. It is well know Americans work longer and harder then many other cultures to afford our stupidities. So fat and lazy is relative. Look at the French sipping wine and eating cheese probably smarter but definitely pleasantly lazy..
noobtube on Thu, 25th Sep 2014 10:07 am
According to the EIA…
Africa produces 9 million BBLs of oil per day but uses 3.5 million.
Given the most optimistic numbers…
the United States produces 11.1 million barrels of oil per day but uses, 18.2 million barrels per day.
That difference alone could support 2 additional African continents.
That is a HUGE deficit and is why Americans spend so much time working. Americans are running up their credit card and the WORLD keeps extending American credit limits.
At some point, the WORLD is going to call in the debt of planet America. When that day arrives, planet America is going to disappear, and no one will want to admit they ever lived there (and have to be responsible for that unpayable debt).
http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=US
http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=EG