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In the same way that Harry Beck's 1931 Tube map simplified navigating the London Underground, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has just released a rather interesting chart that summarises US energy consumption.
Figures are in 'Quads' - quadrillion (1015) BTUs - petaBTU if you like.
A quad is about 1kJ, or 300mWh. (1BTU = 1.055kJ = 0.000293kWh)
So in 2008, the US consumed 99.2 quads or 104exaJ.
I would quite like to see a similar chart for UK energy.
My only disappointment is that the size of the boxes is only a bit dependent on the value they contain - proportional areas, or all the same, would be better IMHO.
The chart bought one thing home to me and, delivered a few surprises.
It shows that the US really is an oil-fed nation (and I suspect the oil input to the chemical industry is not included).
I assumed that the nuclear fraction would be larger, and that natural gas would be a smaller player - and not actually more important than coal.
And geothermal seems to make quite a contribution - it is only a tiny fraction of the total, as expected, but delivers far more than solar generation, and almost as much as wind power.
'Alice'
Respond below, or to alice@electronicsweekly.com
Comments (5)
The chart is an interesting and concise bit of info. I would have thought that coal was a bigger fraction of the US energy budget, but that's just because I see train loads of coal heading towards the local electrical power plant on a regular basis. To see so much coal roll by is very impressive/scary. It's rare to get the same visual symbol of petroleum usage.
from Illinois, USA,
Steve Kurt
Posted by Steve Kurt | August 12, 2009 3:46 AM
Posted on August 12, 2009 03:46
Is "rejected energy" meant to represent wasted energy?
Posted by James Head | August 12, 2009 2:26 PM
Posted on August 12, 2009 14:26
Steve, I too have seen those coal trains, having slept by the tracks in Wyoming.
Note to self - don't try to sleep there again
They seemed to be well over a mile long, and something like four of them rumbled past during the night as I remember.
An impressive feat of coal-shifting.
I did try to visit one of the mines, but I arrived too late in Gillette to get a tour of the Eagle Butte mine.
James, I think it must be waste heat, as it is the thermodynamics means that around 2/3 of the energy from a power station, or a car, is heat.
'Alice'
Posted by 'Alice' | August 17, 2009 2:10 PM
Posted on August 17, 2009 14:10
"rejected" energy appears to be that wasted due to efficiency - in the notes at the bottom, the estimated efficiencies of production and use (25% for transportation !) are detailed
Posted by Mike Read | August 18, 2009 12:20 PM
Posted on August 18, 2009 12:20
Thanks Mike.
The sooner we get away from thermodynamic processes, the better!
'Alice'
Posted by 'Alice' | September 11, 2009 11:16 AM
Posted on September 11, 2009 11:16