The OurEnergyLibrary aggregates and indexes publicly available fact sheets, journal articles, reports, studies, and other publications on U.S. energy topics. It is updated every week to include the most recent energy resources from academia, government, industry, non-profits, think tanks, and trade associations. Suggest a resource by emailing us at info@ourenergypolicy.org.
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Energy is essential to American economic success. Like capital, labor and land, energy is an economic input, or “factor of production,” that determines the speed and quality of economic growth. Countries grow either through more economic input or by using that input more efficiently. For example, when the size of a country’s workforce grows, so does its economic potential. But it’s not actually the number of workers that matter from an economic standpoint so much as the amount of work they are able to perform collectively. So improvements in education and technology that make workers more productive grow the economy …
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Technological advances in the exploration and production of natural gas have dramatically increased the quantity of economically recoverable reserves in the United States. The U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) estimates that there is enough natural gas to last more than 90 years at current consumption rates. The growing supply has put downward pressure on natural gas prices, making it an attractive and affordable energy source. Therefore, it is likely that natural gas consumption will increase in all sectors.
In 2010, residential and commercial buildings used natural gas for nearly 21 percent of their energy requirements (Figure 1). Electricity, created from …
View Full ResourceThe U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America (BA) Program is a research and development program to improve the energy performance of new and existing homes. BA’s ultimate goal is to achieve examples of cost-effective, energy-efficient solutions for all U.S. climate zones. This goal will be met using a whole-house system engineering approach and by uniting segments of the industry that traditionally work independently of one another, including architects, engineers, builders, remodelers, trade contractors, manufacturers, material suppliers, community planners, and mortgage lenders.
As a BA team, the NAHB Research Center Industry Partnership has a significant research focus on high performing existing …
View Full ResourceDeveloping the smart grid is about leveraging information technology to improve the production and distribution of electricity. At every level of the power system—from power plants to transmission lines to office buildings and homes—smart grid technology uses information and produces information for others to use. This data may be utilized automatically in the system, or it may be used by grid operators and consumers to help save resources and to keep the system working smoothly.…
View Full ResourceAs the nation’s largest landlord, fleet operator, and purchaser of goods and services, the federal government has the opportunity, if not the responsibility, to lead by example in moving our country in a more sustainable direction.
Recent initiatives across the federal government have demonstrated that the expanded use of information and communications technologies (ICT) can spur significant reductions in energy consumption and greenhouse gases, while at the same time achieve substantial cost savings and improve productivity. Recent technological developments have created new energy saving opportunities in the areas of smart buildings, smart transportation, and travel substitution. Additional opportunities exist related …
View Full ResourceIn North America, a number of efforts are underway to achieve high levels of energy efficiency in commercial and residential buildings. Most of these programs aim to increase the performance of the building envelope, efficiency of equipment, or to effect behavioral changes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the building stock. One area generally overlooked by program managers is the source of energy supply to a building; district energy systems (DES) are a proven method to supply thermal energy to buildings while reducing peak demand, annual energy use, and total greenhouse gas emissions.
This paper provides a background on the …
View Full ResourceThe 2012 edition of Energy Technology Perspectives (ETP 2012) shows clearly that a technological transformation of the energy system is still possible, despite current trends. The integrated use of key existing technologies would make it possible to reduce dependency on imported fossil fuels or on limited domestic resources, decarbonise electricity, enhance energy efficiency and reduce emissions in the industry, transport and buildings sectors. This would dampen surging energy demand, reduce imports, strengthen domestic economies, and over time dramatically reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. The ETP 2012 2°C Scenario (2DS) explores the technology options needed to realise a sustainable future based on …
View Full ResourceOne of the requirements for solar electricity to achieve broad adoption and cost competitiveness with traditional forms of energy generation in the United States is widely accessible and low cost financial capital. The Department of Energy’s SunShot goals, which would result in solar energy contributing to 14% of the nation’s total electricity production by 2030, would require approximately $250 billion of solar electric generation deployment (DOE 2012). Currently, solar electric generation projects are primarily financed by institutions deploying private capital, which often require a high return on their investment. As a result, there has been a growing interest in financial …
View Full ResourceEnergy use is pervasive throughout the U.S. economy. Households and businesses use energy from oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear power, and renewable sources (such as wind and the sun) to generate electricity, provide transportation, and heat and cool buildings. In 2010, energy consumption represented 8.4 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.
Disruptions in the supply of commodities used to produce energy tend to raise energy prices, imposing an increased burden on U.S. households and businesses. Disruptions can also reduce the nation’s economic output and thus people’s income. This paper examines energy security in the United States—that is, the ability of …
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