Senate analyzes global energy trends

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held an oversight hearing today on the U.S. and global energy outlook for 2012. Each year, the committee holds a similar hearing to focus on recent trends in energy production and consumption in the U.S. and around the world.

“While Americans have become more aware of their energy consumption, we still have a long way to go to create a clean energy world,” Senator Coons, a member of the Energy Committee, said. “I’m encouraged by a number of the findings that were discussed in today’s hearing and will continue to work with my colleagues on the Committee to champion clean energy and energy efficiency, which will not only boost our economy and create jobs, but also increase our national security and improve our environment.”

Some of today’s noteworthy domestic findings include:

• The energy intensity of the U.S. economy is expected to decline by 42 percent between 2010 and 2035
• Oil imports, as a share of total U.S. oil consumption,  are expected to decline from 49 percent in 2010 to 36 percent in 2035, with the decline attributable to:
  
  • U.S. natural gas prices are expected to remain below $5 per thousand cubic feet
  • U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from energy-related sources are expected to remain below 2005 levels throughout the forecast period

Key findings of the latest World Energy Outlook include:

• China and India together will account for 50 percent of global energy demand growth between 2010 and 2035
• Renewable energy, followed by natural gas, will meet much of the energy demand growth over the forecast period.  In contrast, almost half of the energy demand growth between 2000 and 2010 was met with coal
• While the U.S., Europe, and Japan will all be less reliant on imported oil in 2035, China and India will be sharply more reliant on imported oil than they are today
• If the world uses less nuclear power than expected, in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, demand for coal and natural gas will increase, and greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector will also increase

A panel of four witnesses testified at the oversight hearing: The Energy Information Administration’s Acting Administrator and Deputy Administrator Dr. Howard Gruenspecht; the International Energy Agency’s Deputy Director Ambassador Rickard Jones; PFC Energy’s Partner and Head of Financial Advisory Mr. Roger Diwan; and Cambridge Energy Research Associates’ Managing Director Mr. Jim Burkhard.

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