EIA says 2016 U.S. energy expenditures declined to lowest share of GDP since 1970

According to the most recent data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2016, U.S. energy expenditures declined for the fifth consecutive year, reaching $1.0 trillion in 2016. This represents a 9% decrease in real terms from 2015.

Adjusted for inflation, total energy expenditures in 2016 were the lowest since 2003. Expressed as a percent of gross domestic product (GDP), total energy expenditures were 5.6% in 2016, the lowest share of GDP since at least 1970. According to EIA, contributing factors include steady annual increases in GDP since 2010, coupled with steady annual decreases in total energy expenditures since 2011.

Source: EIA, "In 2016, U.S. energy expenditures per unit GDP were the lowest since at least 1970"

Meanwhile, annual total U.S. energy consumption has remained virtually flat since 2013. So the recent decreases in total energy expenditures are generally the result of lower energy prices. But EIA says it doesn’t expect this trend to continue, as average energy prices of products such as motor gasoline, natural gas, and retail electricity have all increased since 2016.

Source: EIA, "In 2016, U.S. energy expenditures per unit GDP were the lowest since at least 1970"

EIA also notes significant geographic variation in state total energy expenditures as a percent of state GDP. In 2016, Louisiana led the pack as it has every year since EIA started tracking this metric in 1997, with 2016 energy expenditures per GDP of 11.1% in 2016. EIA points to Louisiana’s large industrial sector consumption, including its energy-intensive petrochemical industry, as the biggest piece of the explanation.

Source: EIA, "In 2016, U.S. energy expenditures per unit GDP were the lowest since at least 1970"

But even while leading the nation, Louisiana set its own record-low ratio of energy expenditures per GDP, at a level that was less than half of the state’s previous high (26.5%) which was reached in 2008. Meanwhile, District of Columbia (1.6%), New York (3.3%), Massachusetts (4.3%), California (4.3%), and Delaware (4.4%) had the lowest energy expenditures per GDP in 2016. EIA says this reflects relatively high consumption in less energy-intensive residential and commercial sectors as well as relatively high state GDP.

Maine's energy legislation carryovers from 2017

When the First Regular Session of the 128th Maine State Legislature adjourned earlier this year, its committees reserved a list of bills for further debate in 2018.  A list of these carryover bills published by the legislative information office includes 16 bills carried over by the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Technology.  While new legislation may be proposed in the legislature's second session, the committee's work in 2018 will include action on these carried-over bills.

Here's an excerpt from the list of bills carried over, focused on the Energy, Utilities, and Technology committee:

• LD 131, An Act To Protect the Biomass Industry
• LD 140, An Act To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue To Support Entrepreneurial Activity, Attract Business and Enhance Demographic In-migration by Investing in High-speed Broadband Infrastructure and To Amend the Law Governing the Municipal Gigabit Broadband Network Access Fund
• LD 257, An Act To Enable Municipalities Working with Utilities To Establish Microgrids
• LD 260, An Act to Create the Maine Energy Office
• LD 532, An Act to Remove the 100-megawatt Limit on Hydroelectric Generators under the Renewable Resources Laws
• LD 822, An Act to Ensure Fairness among Large Consumers of Natural Gas
• LD 1176, An Act To Ensure the Safety of Low-income Persons Who Are Deaf and Who Use Video and Captioned Phones by Providing Equitable Access to the Internet
• LD 1224, An Act To Allow for Greater Energy Competition in Maine by Amending the Law Governing Electric Generation or Generation-related Assets by Affiliates
• LD 1372, An Act To Increase Broadband Access for Rural Communities
• LD 1373, An Act To Protect and Expand Access to Solar Power in Maine
• LD 1444, An Act Regarding Large-scale Community Solar Procurement
• LD 1472, An Act To Lower the Costs of Broadband Service by Coordinating the Installation of Broadband Infrastructure
• LD 1487, An Act To Control Electricity Transmission Costs through the Development of Nontransmission Alternatives
• LD 1515, An Act To Reduce Electric Rates for Maine Businesses by Amending the Laws Governing Spending from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Trust Fund
• LD 1610, An Act To Protect Privacy of Online Customer Personal Information
• LD 1632, An Act To Establish the Manufacturing Jobs Energy Program

Based on these bill titles, the committee will be faced with continuing discussion over broadband; regulation and incentives for renewable energy resources including solar, hydroelectricity and biomass; economic development and reduction of electricity rates.

Energy Dept 2015 Quadrennial Technology Review

The U.S. Department of Energy has released its second Quadrennial Technology Review, a 505-page report describing the nation’s energy landscape and the dramatic changes that have taken place over the last four years.

The 2015 Quadrennial Technology Review examines the current status of energy technologies and research opportunities to advance them in addition to key enabling science and energy capabilities.  The updated report comes four years after the Energy Department's original Quadrennial Technology Review, issued in 2011.

The 2015 report notes, "The last four years have been defined by dramatic change in the nation’s energy landscape." Huge growth in domestic production of oil and natural gas has made the U.S. the world leader in combined oil and natural gas production for the last three consecutive years. Wind energy capacity has increased by 65 percent and wind energy generation has nearly doubled; solar capacity has increased 9 fold and solar photovoltaic generation over tenfold; old, inefficient power plants are being replaced by cleaner, more efficient ones; transportation efficiencies continue to improve.

It also highlights the Energy Department's view of "the most promising research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) opportunities across energy technologies to effectively address the nation's energy needs. Specifically, this analysis identifies the important technology RDD&D opportunities across energy supply and end use in working toward a clean energy economy in the United States."  Individual chapters focus on specific technology types, including grid modernization, clean power, buildings, manufacturing, fuels, and transportation. 

The report also draws some overarching conclusions:

• Energy systems are increasingly interconnected through the internet and other technologies, which could enable new paradigms for cost and emissions reduction. 
• Increasingly diverse options are available to meet the nation’s energy needs is increasing, creating a more dependable and flexible energy system for consumers.
• Substantial energy efficiency opportunities remain untapped.
• More research and development could lead to innovation and breakthroughs in how to deliver clean energy cheaper and faster.

Obama to unveil climate change plan

President Obama is expected to unveil his second-term plan to address climate change tomorrow.  In a video released this past weekend, President Obama announced that he will speak at Georgetown University on Tuesday to present his plan "for the steps we need to take to prepare our country for the impacts of climate change and lead the global effort to fight it."  While the details of his plan are not yet public, its scope and specifics may have a significant impact on both the environment and the economy.

The U.S. House of Representatives.

This is not the first time President Obama has spoken about climate change.  In his second inaugural address, he vowed to "respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations."  Similarly, in his 2013 State of the Union address, he asked Congress to develop a market-based solution, but vowed to take executive action if necessary.

Potential elements of his plan range in scope and impact.  President Obama has already issued an executive order promoting industrial energy efficiency; increasing support for energy efficiency is relatively likely to garner widespread support.  Potentially more impactful -- both in terms of potential to reduce carbon emissions and to increase costs -- are proposals to revise the rules for carbon emissions from existing power plants.  Some Republican Congressional leaders, like House Speaker John Boehner, have already called the climate change plans "absolutely crazy" and certain to increase the cost of energy, driving manufacturing and jobs overseas.

Tomorrow's speech will give us a better sense of Obama's policy direction on carbon emissions and climate change.  It is certain to be followed up a significant dialogue about both the importance of issue and the balancing of costs and benefits that is fundamental to policymaking.  Whether Congress acts, the president uses his executive powers to change policy, or both, remains to be seen.

3/31/10

It's a record: 11 inches of rain in Portland, Maine this March. The Portland Press Herald has some nice pictures of the effects of the Colcord Pond dam breach I mentioned yesterday. In Rhode Island, the flooding is bad enough -- 12 feet over the banks of the Pawtuxet River -- to greatly constrain the capacity of the Warwick wastewater treatment plant.

President Obama will announce more offshore oil drilling off the East Coast. Meanwhile oil prices are on the rise.

On Monday, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced $37.5 million in funding for the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center, a virtual campus located at existing research sites in both countries. The Center will focus on energy efficiency, clean vehicles and carbon capture from coal-fueled power plants -- something China has a lot of.

A panel of British lawmakers investigating the "climategate" leaked email scandal have labeled British climate change research as "damaged" by the incident. The 59-page report by the Commons Science and Technology Committee says that climate change research must become more transparent.

In California, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center will start generating 10% of its power needs through 15 MW of solar photovoltaic arrays. Kaiser has entered into power purchase agreements with Recurrent Energy, who will own and operate the solar panels and sell the power to Kaiser, while Kaiser will retain the rights to the renewable energy credits. Meanwhile other projects in California are in a permitting backlog, jeopardizing their chances at earning the 30% cash grant in lieu of investment tax credit, which requires ground to be broken this year.

The Los Angeles City Council has backed a much smaller rate hike than proposed by Mayor Villaraigosa: 0.1-cent increase per kilowatt-hour in the rates paid by residential and commercial customers of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, with the initial money to go toward establishing a trust fund for renewable-energy production and energy efficiency.

Wisconsin wants in on the manufacturing associated with renewable deployment.