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Historical energy use in the United States

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The historical United States energy use information below applies to the years prior to August 2015. For more current information regarding energy policy in the United States click here.

Energy use in the United States may depend on geography, availability of energy resources, the method by which electricity is generated, the amount of energy consumed, and the decisions of policymakers.

Energy use in the United States

The chart below shows energy consumption, production, imports and exports from 1949 through 2013 in the United States in quadrillion BTU.[1]

Energy consumption, production, imports and exports in the United States, 1949-2013

History

Wood was used an energy source for early Europeans settlers. As technology advanced, water mills were used to power some industries. Coal and petroleum became commonly used energy resources at the end of the 19th century. By the middle of the 20th century, coal was increasingly used to generate electricity power plants. Around the same time, nuclear power emerged as an energy resource. The graph below shows historical energy consumption patterns from 1776 to 2010.[2][3]

U.S. energy consumption, by source, 1776-2010

Oil and natural gas

Oil pumps in California

As of 2012, the United States had 11,884 million barrels of proven crude oil reserves and 110,351 billion cubic feet of natural gas reserves.[4][5][6][7]

The chart below shows proven fossil fuel reserves in the United States compared to 17 countries with the highest valued reserves (the comparison was calculated by Business Insider). In 2014, the United States had the 11th highest proven oil reserves; the fifth-highest proven natural gas reserves; the world's largest coal reserves; and the fifth highest-valued energy reserves, which totaled $28.5 trillion dollars.[8]

Note: Click on a column heading to sort the data.

Proven traditional energy reserves
Data from February 2014
Country Proven oil reserves (billion barrels) Proven natural gas reserves (TCF) Proven coal reserves (billion tons) Value (trillions, 2014 prices)
Algeria 12.2 159.1 - $3.4
Libya 48 54.6 - $6
India 5.7 47 60.6 $6.5
Kazakhstan 30 45.7 33.6 $6.8
Nigeria 37.2 182 - $6.8
Australia 3.9 132.8 76.4 $9
Turkmenistan 0.6 618.1 - $9.7
Kuwait 101.5 63 - $11.8
China 17.3 109.3 115 $13.2
United Arab Emirates 97.8 215.1 - $13.8
Qatar 23.9 885.1 - $16.4
Iraq 150 126.7 - $18
Canada 173.9 70 6.58 $20.2
United States 35 300 237 $28.5
Saudi Arabia 265.9 290.8 - $33
Venezuela 297.6 196.4 479 $34.9
Iran 157 1187.3 - $35.3
Russia 87 1163 157 $40.7

Renewable energy resources

The chart below shows renewable electric power capacity in 2013 for the six countries with the highest renewable electric power capacity.[9]

Note: Click on a column heading to sort the data.

Top six countries by renewable electric power capacity in GW (2013)
Country All renewables Biofuels Geothermal Hydropower Solar (PV) Wind
China 378 6.2 ~0 260 19.9 91
United States 172 15.8 3.4 78 12.1 61
Germany 84 8.1 ~0 5.6 36 34
Spain 49 1 ~0 17.1 5.6 23
Italy 49 4 .9 18.3 17.6 8.6
India 71 4.4 ~0 44 2.2 20

Consumption and prices

The graphs below show energy consumption by energy type in the United States from 1949 to 2013 in quadrillion BTU and the cost of fuels to end users in real (1982-1984) dollars..[1]

Energy consumption by source in the United States, 1949-2013
Energy cost in real dollars (1982-1984) the United States, 1960-2013

Consumption by sector

The graph below shows energy consumption by sector in the United States from 1949 through 2013.[10]

Energy consumption by sector in the U.S. from 1949 through 2013

Carbon dioxide emissions

The graph below shows energy-related carbon dioxide emissions according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Energy-related CO2 emissions

Energy imports and exports

The following two charts show energy imports (top) and exports (bottom) in the United States from 1949 through 2013 in quadrillion BTU. The green line labeled "Other" includes coal coke, coal, biofuels and electricity.[1]

Energy imports and exports in the United States, 1949-2013

Production and transmission

Production

The chart below shows energy production by type in the United States from 1949 to 2013 in quadrillion BTU.[1]

Energy production in the United States, 1949-2013

Transmission

Electric power transmission includes the system of power lines that carry electricity from power plants to consumers. Generated power must be fed through a system of substations that lower its voltage. As of 2002, over 150,000 miles of transmission lines linked electricity providers in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.[11][12]

Electricity transmission systems in North America (as of 2014)

The three electricity transmission systems in North America in 2014 were Western Interconnection, ERCOT Interconnection, and Eastern Interconnection. As of 2014, there were 10 regional councils that managed the 140 local control areas in these systems network.[11][13]

Energy policy in the 50 states

Click on a state below to read more about that state's energy policy.

http://ballotpedia.org/Energy_policy_in_STATE

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Energy Overview," May 2014
  2. ↑ U.S. Department of Energy, "A Brief History of Coal Use," February 12, 2013
  3. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Energy sources have changed throughout the history of the United States," July 3, 2013
  4. ↑ U.S. Energy information Administration, "Petroleum & Other Liquids," accessed April 10, 2014
  5. ↑ Six thousand feet of gas equals about one barrel of oil, which equals about 19 gallons of gasoline.
  6. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey, "World level summary of petroleum estimates for undiscovered conventional petroleum and reserve growth for oil, gas, and natural gas liquids (NGL).," 2000," accessed April 23, 2014
  7. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Frequently Asked Questions," May 30, 2013, accessed March 18, 2014
  8. ↑ Business Insider, "The 17 Countries Sitting On The Most Valuable Energy Reserves," February 13, 2014
  9. ↑ Global Wind Energy Council, "China Wind Energy Development Update 2012," accessed June 4, 2014
  10. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Total Energy," accessed June 19, 2014
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 U.S. Department of Energy, National Transmission Grid Study," May 2002
  12. ↑ Minnesota Electric Transmission Planning, "How the electric transmission system works," accessed August 19, 2015
  13. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, "How much electricity is lost in transmission and distribution in the United States?" May 7, 2014
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