8 replies to this topic

[benbakelaar]

Does anyone know of a map that shows energy consumption by area? I was just reading an article about how oil is probably not going to hit $80/barrel (EDIT: in the near term), in part because the US energy market seems to be moderating itself (not increasing demand). I would be very interested to see a map showing energy consupmtion by region (or even greater granularity.. i.e. by major city...) as a percentage of total energy consumption (per month... year... decade... whatever).

If no one knows of a map, does anyone know what kind of data source might provide this information?

Speaking in terms of applications, wouldn't it make sense if, for example, it showed that the 10 largest cities in the USA accounted for 25% of total national energy usage... then shouldn't we implement very specific energy mitigation strategies that would apply to urban life, rather than some sort of national program? Or if it found that, for instance, the Northeast consumed 33% of total national energy usage. I really have no idea, just some guesses to illustrate my point.

[Dennis McClendon]

First of all, you want to look at energy consumption per capita.

Second, unless you control for climate, coastal California will look really good.

Once past that, I think you'll find highest per capita energy use in exurban areas, which have both large single-family homes to heat and cool AND drive long distances for all trips. The question of whether we highrise dwellers use more energy per capita than residents of ordinary suburban neighborhoods is not easy to answer because so many of the energy is consumed as "externalities," such as running subway trains or apartment building heating that's included in rent/assessments on one side, or more energy used by postal carriers or garbage trucks in the suburbs.

[benbakelaar]

Thanks, I understand that climate and other factors influence energy consumption, and it fluctuates year to year. I was simply interested in seeing which state or region uses the most, regardless. I am interested in your theory of exurban areas, I wonder if we can find data on the state level for municipality energy useage. Or however each state divides up its power regions.

I found the data nationally!

http://www.eia.doe.g...sum_use_all.pdf

[Dennis McClendon]

Did you see the per capita listing?

Per Capita Energy Use by State

Top 5: Alaska, Wyoming, Louisiana, North Dakota, Texas
Bottom 5: Rhode Island, New York, California, Hawaii, Massachusetts

[benbakelaar]

Ah I see, so are you saying that the way they arrive at a statewide figure anyway is by taking the per capita usage and multiplying by the population size? Is that per capita figure a national number? Sorry, I still haven't gotten a chance to really analyze that pdf

Did you see the per capita listing?

Per Capita Energy Use by State

Top 5: Alaska, Wyoming, Louisiana, North Dakota, Texas
Bottom 5: Rhode Island, New York, California, Hawaii, Massachusetts

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[Dennis McClendon]

No, they take the statewide number and divide it by the population to get a per capita figure.

[benbakelaar]

Oh ok, now I see your point... using the per capita number controls for population size. Because obviously a state with a larger population will likely use more energy. Sometimes I am a little slow.

[peanut]

In addition to looking at energy consumption per capita it might also be interesting to look at energy consumption normalized to the land area.

Rich

[travelbug]

besides population and climate, another factor you might want to consider is economic makeup, i.e. %of manufacturing vs. services in GDP.