Fuels in The U.S.

I wanted to continue to provide a little background knowledge introducing the he major types of fuel used in the United State and how they are used.  That way you know where the energy is coming from and what kind of effect their choices have on the environment and the economy.  The major fuels types consisted of petroleum, natural gas, coal, nuclear and renewables (wind, hydro, solar, and biomass).  Even while here in little Rhody we only use petroleum, natural gas and some renewables, it is best for us to know what is going on beyond our boards.

Starting with the dirtiest (in terms of atmospheric pollution) coal.  Coal is used to meet around 50% of the U.S.’s energy demands while it releases 81% of the Carbon Dioxide emissions (http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=coal_home-basics).  The other major emissions released are sulfur (SOx), mercury (largest sources for both) and Nitrogen (NOx)(second largest source).  There are some good points to coal as well. It is easiest the most plentiful resources we have in the states. With large stores in the Rocky and Appellations mountains.

Petroleum is next on the list making up 94% of the energy used in transportation. We get roughly 50% of this for foreign sources, with our local sources coming mostly from Alaska, and the gulf. Petroleum releases all of the same emissions that coal does just in smaller numbers per unit.

Natural gas is used to produce 19% of the electricity and 76% of the residential and commercial (used for heating).  This has the lowest emissions of any fossil fuel, however retrieving this resource is proving to be more difficult and dirty. I’ll make sure to do a future post all about process of retrieving it call “fracking”.  This is another resource that is local, mostly coming from the appellation region and now the northern Midwest.

Nuclear does release any emissions and can be produced in the United States, however it has some major setbacks as many of you know.   On the good side it can produce a large quantity of energy over a small area and once up and running the costs are low.  Although it does produce a large amount of hazardous waste that no one has found a way of dealing with yet.  This waste is not only an environmental hazard but also a health and national security hazard.

Where renewables do not release any emissions (with the exception of biomass). However, these technologies take up large areas to produce relatively small amounts of energy.  They are also extremely expense to start and can disturb human life, ranging from a simple eye sore to shadow flicker effecting your health (can cause headaches) or forcing a major change in the way you live you life. 

Where is our energy used/come from?

Above is a chart that shows what the sources of energy and in what sector they are being used.  This is for the United States as a whole, so the percentages and sources will be different for Rhode Island.  I just felt it was a good idea to introduce you to what the whole country is up to before going into detail about Rhode Island.  Here in Rhode Island our industry tends to be smaller, this reduces the amount of electric power needed for the state and increases the percentage of the energy going to residential.  

            

Total Energy Usage

 The sources of energy that are being used in Rhode Island are also different.  In the northeast coal is very rarely used to produce electric power, and in Rhode Island the only large scale electric generating plants (learn more about energy in RI here) are natural gas powered.  There is only one plant in Rhode Island and it is located on Manchester St. in Providence.  It is owned by Dominion and the electricity is disturbed by National grid (you can learn more about this plant here).  In Rhode Island power generators are not allowed to own both the generation facilities and the distribution lines. This allows for a more stable pricing market.

         

There are many different topics to talk go into that have to do with our wide use of natural gas in the state.  One of them is the use of natural gas in the state (and other factors), it has very low greenhouse emissions compared to states in other parts of the country.  The state has taken steps toward lowering those emissions even farer by taking part in RGGI (Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative). This is a cap and trade program that I will go farer into in it's own post since it is a huge player in Rhode Island's energy sector.  Another is the question of is does natural gas really release lease greenhouse gases when you look at its life cycle. This brings up the much heated debate of hydrofracking.  There are so many topics to go into I'm looking forward into really getting in to as much detail as I can and providing information to anyone who wants it.  I can't wait!