Feds’ Annual Energy Report: Oil, Gas Dominate Energy through 2050
The federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its Annual Energy Outlook 2022 on Thursday that shows that despite the global war on fossil fuels in the name of climate change, oil and gas will be the most consumed energy source in the United States through 2050.
The report said energy consumption overall is growing: Energy consumption will increase in the United States over the next 30 years across a variety of economic scenarios as population and economic growth outpace energy efficiency gains, according to our Annual Energy Outlook 2022. Ahead of the release the agency summarized the key findings of the report, including the domination of oil and gas, with the transportation sector consuming the majority of the fuels, specifically motor gasoline and diesel. Another key finding is that U.S. crude oil production will reach record highs, while natural gas production will be increasingly driven by natural gas exports around the world: In the Reference case, we project that U.S. natural gas exports will rise through 2050, primarily driven by increases in liquefied natural gas capacity, global natural gas consumption, and pipeline exports to Mexico and Canada. From 2021 through 2050, we project that U.S. crude oil exports will remain near their projected peak and that they will remain mostly the same in both gross terms and as a percentage of total domestic crude oil production.
The third key finding in the report is that alternative energy will also grow significantly over the next 30 years: Wind and solar incentives, along with falling technology costs, support robust competition with natural gas for electricity generation while the shares of coal and nuclear power decrease in the U.S. electricity mix.
The share of generation from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, will rapidly increase over the next 30 years as state and federal policies continue to provide significant incentive to invest in renewable resources for electricity generation and transportation fuels. New technologies will continue to drive down the cost of wind and solar generators, further increasing their competitiveness in the electricity market, even as assumed policy effects lessen over time. You can access the complete report here. Follow Penny Starr on Twitter.
Read the full article at the original website
References:
