IT’S OFFICIAL - U.S. NEW ENERGY UP, OLD ENERGY DOWN

Trends in Renewable Energy Consumption and Electricity 2009
March 31, 2011 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)

"…Despite an economic recession and a significant fall in overall energy demand/consumption, the use of renewable fuels grew strongly in 2009. This growth has been supported by Federal and State programs, including federal tax credits, state renewable portfolio standards, and a federal renewable fuels standard…

"U.S. energy consumption declined for the second year in a row in 2009, falling 4.8 percent between 2008 and 2009 to 94.6 quadrillion British Thermal Units (Btus)…This follows a 2.1-percent decline between 2007 and 2008. As a result, total energy consumption in 2009 dropped to its lowest level since 1996…"

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"This is just the third time since 1949 that energy consumption has declined for two or more consecutive years. It declined between 1973 and 1974 and again in 1975. However, consumption rebounded in 1976 above the 1973 level. The longest and steepest decline occurred between 1979 and 1983, when total energy consumption dropped 9.7 percent and it did not reach the 1979 level again until 1988.

"In both of these earlier periods, oil prices that rose steeply and remained at high levels were a major factor in slowing down the economy and hence reducing energy consumption. This time, there has been no steep oil price increase that resulted in permanently higher oil prices; the average annual price per barrel of crude oil was $60 in 2006, $67 in 2007, $94 in 2008, and $56 in 2009…Instead, the economy slowed down mainly due to factors outside the energy sector."

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"Consumption of all major fuels declined between 2008 and 2009, except for renewables. Coal dropped the most, falling 12 percent, while petroleum consumption fell nearly 5 percent, and natural gas consumption fell 2 percent. Even nuclear fuel consumption fell by nearly 1 percent. The decline in all of these sources of energy masks the switching of coal to natural gas for electricity generation due to low natural gas prices…

"Against this backdrop, it is noteworthy that renewable energy consumption increased by 5.4 percent in 2009 to 7.8 quadrillion Btus…This follows a 9.6-percent increase between 2007 and 2008. These two increases, coupled with the consecutive year decreases in total energy consumption, boosted renewable energy's share of total consumption from 6.6 percent in 2007 to 8.2 percent in 2009. This is renewable energy's greatest share of the U.S. energy pie since 1984 when there were near record levels of hydropower…"