Just the Facts: Sustainable Energy in America

The size of this year's update to the Sustainable Energy in America Factbook is a testament to just how strong the renewable energy market is these days. Published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) with underwriting from the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, the Factbook is 144 well-packed pages of data that attests the vibrancy of an energy sector that only two years ago could be summarized in something just bigger than a brochure.

This year's version, however, shouts out those changes -- underscoring, as BNEF says, that "the U.S. energy sector is decarbonizing." It's a concept as well as a term that was almost nonexistent at the turn of the 21st century -- and now seems to sum up the state of power generation in this country.

Accomplishments that made the list this year include:

• 93 percent of the new power infrastructure that has been built since 2000 went to support "natural gas ... or renewable energy projects." *


• $386 billion has been invested in sustainable energy since 2007, averaging $35 billion to $65 billion each year. In 2014, that investment rose 7 percent over the previous year to $51.8 billion.


• Coal has regained a tiny part of the energy market share in the past two years, but its historic slide from 49 percent in 2007 to 37 percent in 2012 is a reflection of its waning strength. With its market share now hovering around 39 percent, says BNEF, "‘structural’ trends – especially the retirement of coal plants – are underway that will probably lead to long-term increased market share for natural gas."


• Better fuel and vehicle efficiency and other innovations that have resulted in less vehicles on the road are taking a toll on gas consumption. Since 2005, gasoline consumption has dropped 8.6 percent.


• Natural gas production is up 25 percent, bolstered by improvements in technology and a surging demand.


• U.S. shale drilling is also up -- 41 percent since 2007 -- due to developments in new technology.


• Crude oil production in the U.S. has shot up 41 percent since 2007, when it averaged 5.1 million barrels a day, to 9 million barrels a day in 2014.

The Factbook also credited the Obama administration's various clean energy programs for helping to incentivize the renewable energy sector. The Clean Energy Plan, which sets recommended clean energy goals for states, has helped encourage new initiatives in states like Minnesota and California -- where solar, wind and other clean energy models are being promoted through private investment.

The Factbook offers a pretty broad overview of factors related to green business practices -- many more than can be listed here: from a breakdown of the current leaders in power generation to the cost of ownership of today's more popular vehicles. The message one gets from this year's Factbook is that green living isn't about choosing which fuel offers the least carbon emissions or how much we don't drive, but rather how we factor those reductions into the innovative and holistic strategies we use to meet our sustainability goals.

* The report does not distinguish in this statement whether it is referring to non-renewable natural gas or renewable natural gas in the executive summary (pg 8), but since the distinction was not made in its footnote, we will assume it is referring to infrastructure related to non-renewable gas sources.

 Image courtesy of Bloomberg Finance L.P. and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy