The United States is increasingly relying on renewable energy resources, particularly wind energy, for electricity generation than on coal and petroleum, although government audits revealed that stimulus funding for renewables went largely unspent.
Analysts at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory found that coal, petroleum and natural gas use dropped in 2009 – though they remain the largest power sources – while wind, solar, hydro and geothermal power generation went up.
Overall energy use fell from 99.2 quadrillion British thermal units in 2008 to 94.6 qaudrillion British thermal units last year. One British thermal unit is equal to approximately 293 billion kilowatt-hours.
A large part of the decline came from the industrial sector, where energy use plummeted by as much as 2.16 quadrillion. Energy use in transportation, residential, and commercial sectors also dropped by 0.88, 0.22, and 0.09 quadrillion, respectively.
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A.J. Simon, an energy systems analyst for the laboratory, attributed much of the decline in energy use to the recession and lesser economic activity. Higher efficiency appliances and vehicles reduced energy use even further.
The growth of renewable energy, which displaced significant amounts of coal, was also a contributing factor.
Wind energy increased dramatically in 2009 to 0.70 quadrillion of primary energy, compared with 0.51 quadrillion in 2008. Most of the power generated is connected to electricity generation, thus decreasing the need for fossil-fueled electricity, Mr. Simon pointed out.
«It’s a result of very good incentives and technological advancements. In 2009, the technology got better and the incentives remained relatively stable,” he added.
Renewable energy now accounts for almost 17 percent of the United States’ annual energy supply, and that figure would likely to grow if current trends and government support continue.
However, recent audit reports from the Energy Department reveal that billions of federal funding allocated for renewable energy and energy efficiency development are still unspent. Gregory Friedman, the department’s inspector general, feared that the funding may not be distributed in time to meet its deadline.
The department received $36 billion in stimulus funds from the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In an audit report on August 4, Mr. Friedman found that the department already allocated 90 percent of the funding as of July, but is at the risk of losing the remaining $3.4 billion if it fails to dole it all out before September 30.
Meanwhile, another audit report dated August 11 shows that less than 9 percent of the $3.2 billion stimulus funding allocated for the energy efficiency and conservation block grant has been spent.
New York only spent $1.5 million, or less than 2 percent, of its total funding of $80.8 million for energy efficiency retrofits and recycling programs. Chicago under spent even worse, consuming only $40,000, or 0.1 percent, of the $27.6 million it received from the program.
