Americans use less energy in 2015 according to Lawrence Livermore analysis

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/dlnl-aul041916.php

Public Release: 19-Apr-2016
Americans use less energy in 2015 according to Lawrence Livermore analysis
DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Americans used less energy overall in 2015 than the previous year, according to the most recent energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.


Natural gas use increased by 3 percent to 28.3 quads while coal use decreased by 12 percent to 15.7 quads. "The drop in coal consumption is almost entirely due to the electricity sector, which continues to use more natural gas, in favor of coal," said A.J. Simon, group leader for LLNL's energy program. In fact, much of the overall decrease in energy consumption can be traced to the shift from coal to gas, because modern gas-fired plants may use up to 46 percent less energy to produce the same amount of electricity."

Renewable energy continues to grow, with use of wind energy up 5 percent, geothermal energy up 11 percent, and residential solar energy up 11 percent. Utility scale solar energy, which saw the completion of several major projects in recent years, was up 25 percent. Prices for photovoltaic panels have fallen dramatically over the past decade, contributing to solar energy's rapid growth.

Residential natural gas consumption fell by 0.5 quads in 2015 due to a mild winter. Commercial and industrial uses of energy saw much smaller decreases.

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