LLNL Report: U.S. Energy Usage Up in 2013

The Energy Department's Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) on April two released information showing that U.S. consumers used 2.3 quadrillion thermal units more energy in 2013 than the previous year. The nation's energy-related carbon dioxide emissions increased to 5,390 million metric tons, the 1st yearly increase since 2010, according to LLNL.

In the utility industry, wind energy continued to grow strongly, increasing 18% from 1.36 quadrillion BTUs, or quads, in 2012 to 1.6 quads in 2013, the equivalent of about 470.6 million kilowatt-hours. New wind farms continue to come on line with bigger, more efficient turbines-most new wind turbines can generate two to 2.5 megawatts of power. Similarly, the transportation sector is using more renewable energy, specifically biomass-based ethanol. The majority of energy use in 2013 was used for electricity generation (38.2 quads), followed by transportation, industrial, residential, and commercial applications.

Energy use in the residential, commercial transportation, and industrial sectors all increased slightly. See the LLNL news release.

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