Abstract: Energy supplies and prices are major economic factors in the United States, and energy markets are volatile and unpredictable. Thus, energy policy has been a recurring issue for Congress since the first major crisis in the 1970s. As an aid in policy making, this report presents a current and historical view of the supply and consumption of various forms of energy.

The historical trends show petroleum as the major source of energy, rising from about 38% in 1950 to 45% in 1975, then declining to about 40% in response to the energy crisis of the 1970s. Significantly, the transportation sector has been and continues to be almost completely dependent on petroleum, mostly gasoline.

Natural gas followed a similar pattern at a lower level, increasing its share of total energy from about 17% in 1950 to more than 30% in 1970, then declining to about 20%. Consumption of coal in 1950 was 35% of the total, almost equal to oil, but it declined to about 20% a decade later and has remained at about that proportion since then. Coal currently is used almost exclusively for electric power generation.

Nuclear power started coming online in significant amounts in the late 1960s, and by 1975, in the midst of the oil crisis, was supplying 9% of total electricity generation. However, increases in capital costs, construction delays, and public opposition to nuclear power following the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 curtailed expansion of the technology, and many construction projects were cancelled. Continuation of some construction increased the nuclear share of generation to 20% in 1990, where it remains currently. The first new reactor license applications in nearly 30 years were recently submitted, but no new plants are currently under construction or on order.

Construction of major hydroelectric projects has also essentially ceased, and hydropower’s share of electricity generation has gradually declined, from 30% in 1950 to 15% in 1975 and less than 10% in 2000. However, hydropower remains highly important on a regional basis.

Renewable energy sources (except hydropower) continue to offer more potential than actual energy production, although fuel ethanol has become a significant factor in transportation fuel, and wind power has recently grown rapidly. Conservation and energy efficiency have shown significant gains over the past three decades and offer encouraging potential to relieve some of the dependence on imports that has caused economic difficulties in the past, as well as the present.

After an introductory overview of aggregate energy consumption, this report presents detailed analysis of trends and statistics regarding specific energy sources: oil, electricity, natural gas, coal and renewable energy. A section on trends in energy efficiency is also presented.

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Topics: Energy, Information