May 11, 2020
Report

A Comprehensive System of Energy Intensity Indicators for the U.S.: Methods, Data and Key Trends

Abstract

This report describes a comprehensive system of energy intensity indicators for the United States that has been developed for the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) over the past decade. This system of indicators is hierarchical in nature, beginning with detailed indexes of energy intensity for various sectors of the economy, which are ultimately aggregated to an overall energy intensity index for the economy as a whole. The aggregation of energy intensity indexes to higher levels in the hierarchy is performed with a version of the Log Mean Divisia index (LMDI) method. Based upon the data and methods in the system of indicators, the economy-wide energy intensity index shows a decline of about 16% in 2014 relative to a 1985 base year. Discussion of energy intensity indicators for each of the broad end-use sectors of the economy—residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation—is presented in the report. An analysis of recent changes in the efficiency of electricity generation in the U.S. is also included. A detailed appendix describes the data sources and methodology behind the energy intensity indicators for each sector.

Revised: June 19, 2020 | Published: May 11, 2020

Citation

Belzer D.B., K.A. Cort, and S. Ganguli. 2020. A Comprehensive System of Energy Intensity Indicators for the U.S.: Methods, Data and Key Trends Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.