The United States increased its energy consumption in 2010, after hitting a 12-year low in 2009, according to an annual analysis by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Use of both fossil fuels and renewable energy grew by about 4 percent in 2010 compared to the previous year, according to the data in LLNL’s report, sourced from the federal Energy Information Administration.
Industrial energy use grew fastest, increasing almost 9 percent from 2009 to 2010. Residential energy use grew about 5 percent, while commercial energy use grew about 3 percent. Energy for transportation grew less than 2 percent.
The analysis included a flow chart showing where energy came from and how it was used.
Natural gas has stood out in recent years as domestic production has grown and its price has fallen. Though coal remains the nation’s major resource for generating electricity, natural gas consumption for that purpose has grown more than 25 percent in six years, according to the report. The move to gas-fired generation has helped reduce the nation’s carbon footprint, which has fallen 6 percent from its peak in 2007, the report noted.
Among renewables, wind power and biomass consumption increased, while hydroelectricity declined and solar was flat. The growth of biomass largely was driven by federal requirements on ethanol use in gasoline, according to the report.
“We are still seeing the capacity additions from a wind energy boom come online,” said A.J., an LLNL energy systems analyst. “And renewable fuel mandates are driving the consumption of ethanol by cars and trucks.”
