

Mapping how the United States generates its electricity - ingve
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/power-plants/

======
tomkinstinch
And for a depiction of both how energy is generated and how it is used, see
this flow chart from LLNL:

[https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/content/assets/docs/2014_United-...](https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/content/assets/docs/2014_United-
States_Energy.pdf)

Petroleum is huge for transportation because of its energy density, but it
seems like solar is poised take a chunk out of coal for electricity generation
(at least during the day, or via what energy we can store).

It's amazing how much heat is rejected from electricity generation. Imagine if
we could recapture that lost energy!

There are also state-specific charts on the main LLNL site, and ones depicting
water use and carbon emissions. It's easy to see the influence of local
resources (solar in HI, oil in TX), and of local industry (note the huge water
use in CA compared to, say, NY).

[https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/](https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/)

~~~
burger_moon
>It's amazing how much heat is rejected from electricity generation. Imagine
if we could recapture that lost energy!

Well there is combined cycle[1] which does this with steam and gas turbines.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_cycle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_cycle)

~~~
PhantomGremlin
Combined cycle is very important, but that still only gets you from maybe 35%
to maybe 54%. That means that half is still "wasted". It's those pesky laws of
thermodynamics. Who was that Carnot guy who's causing us all these problems?

What that link also discusses is that using the residual energy for community
heating can get you "theoretical efficiency" of 95%. Now we're talking!

------
diafygi
Fun fact: 87% of the world's energy is from fossil-based fuel[1]. Over the
next 40 years (e.g. in our lifetimes) that will go to zero[2]. We are living
in the generation that will be most remembered, not for the Internet, but for
the transition off fossil fuels.

[1]:
[http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=11951](http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=11951)

[2]: [http://www.pvsolarreport.com/the-next-
internet/](http://www.pvsolarreport.com/the-next-internet/)

~~~
DarkTree
For people in the future, the age of fossil fuels is going to be a small blip
in the history of human civilization. To many people, it may even be weird
that it was ever thing at all, given that our earth had renewable resources
all along. Hopefully, that shift in mindset takes place, where people cannot
imagine not considering environmental impact.

~~~
civilian
Why would it be weird that it was a thing at all?

Renewables have usually been more expensive than fossil fuels. We're at a
point in history where we're transitioning the human race from being 99% in
absolute poverty into fractions of that. Yes, fossil fuels are not
sustainable, but for the sake of bringing people out of poverty I think the
reasons why we used fossil fuels will be obvious to an historian who isn't
clouded by their own futuristic first-world bias.

------
throwaway_yy2Di
Here's the raw data if anyone wants,

[http://www.eia.gov/electricity/data.cfm](http://www.eia.gov/electricity/data.cfm)

(WaPo credits the source, but doesn't make it clear you can simply download
it).

~~~
maxerickson
They also have an interactive map:

[http://www.eia.gov/state/maps.cfm](http://www.eia.gov/state/maps.cfm)

When I first looked at that map I found out that significantly more than 1/2
the generation capacity in my local area is devoted to industry.

------
k_thorisson
I would love to see chronological data about how this has evolved over the
past decade.

It would be especially interesting to see if the grey and red dots are
gradually disappearing or if the alternative methods are just an addition to
serve an increasing energy demand.

Additionally, it's heavenly to see that the single biggest dot on the map is
Hydro, the Grand Coulee Dam in the state of Washington.

------
fataliss
It's insane how in 2015 we still rely that much on coal. Yet we give lessons
to China about energy. Hah.

~~~
Shivetya
Coal is readily available, easy to transport, easy to store, and we have
technology in place to dampen most of the pollutants from burning it. Nuclear
got stuck and never moved on, even the new plants are still of that old idea
of massive containment buildings, large cooling towers, and budget overruns.
Where is all the cool reactor tech we read about?

Hydro is likely going in reverse as many rivers were returned to original
condition for environmental reasons. I don't know of any large hydro under way
other than expansion of current installations.

Solar and wind, larger foot print for the same power, and to top it off
storage for when needed is not simple. I am still not keen on bunkers of
lithium batteries so hopefully other solutions for storing the power to when
its needed come along.

~~~
shoo
> we have technology in place to dampen most of the pollutants from burning it

Could you please go into a little bit more detail here? Which pollutants are
you referring to? By "technology in place" do you mean "deployed in the field
and being used", or something more speculative?

(not disagreeing with you, i am ignorant and curious!)

~~~
hga
The two big ones I know about are sulfur dioxide
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_dioxide#As_an_air_pollu...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_dioxide#As_an_air_pollutant))
and fly ash
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_ash](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_ash)).

------
davidf18
About 1.6% of electricity in the US is imported from hydroelectric from
Canada. Much goes to New England and New York State. The New York Subways are
partially powered by Canadian hydroelectric.

[http://www.pressherald.com/2015/08/03/canada-has-growing-
hyd...](http://www.pressherald.com/2015/08/03/canada-has-growing-hydropower-
northeast-has-need-but/)

------
bargl
As a kid my parents took me to see the laser light show at the Grand Coulee
Dam. I haven't been since but it left a lasting memory and I really want to go
again.

This article made me think of it, because it is the largest dam in the US.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_light_show_(Grand_Coulee...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_light_show_\(Grand_Coulee_Dam\))

------
nsajko
The "other" source of energy the article doesn't elaborate on is probably
mainly biomass.

~~~
cozzyd
Also geothermal (e.g. in Nevada:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_power_stations_in_Neva...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_power_stations_in_Nevada#Geothermal)
)

------
tomkat0789
There should be another view showing the cost per kWh or some other indicator
showing the bang people get for their buck with these plants. It'd be
interesting to see how, say, solar in Nevada and Arizona compares to solar in
Massachusetts or New Jersey.

------
tdhoot
Here's a similar thing in Power Map (a tool made by MS) form:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoeL3_5M2zA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoeL3_5M2zA)

------
vectorjohn
Plurality. You keep using that word, I don't think it means what you think it
means.

~~~
OrwellianChild
"a usually large number of things" [1]

Just a weird way to say "a bunch" or "lots".

[1] [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plurality](http://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/plurality)

~~~
ZeroGravitas
I think they mean it in the second sense listed, more than any other type of
power, but not a majority (>50‰)

~~~
vectorjohn
I stand corrected. I didn't see that one. I.e., it is the largest single
source.

------
danjc
Solar accounts for 1% so Elon Musk really has his work cut out for him!

~~~
pjc50
Does this properly account for rooftop solar as it's not a "plant" but tends
to show up as a demand reduction? It's still probably not all that large.

~~~
ridgeguy
Rooftop solar (more generally, "distributed generation") is growing rapidly
and is expected to be a much larger electricity source than utility scale
photovoltaic plants fairly soon, say by 2020 or even earlier.

The following link shows solar utility and DG through 2014. Sorry, can't
immediately find the predicted values through 2020.

[http://seekingalpha.com/article/3085476-the-long-term-
prospe...](http://seekingalpha.com/article/3085476-the-long-term-prospects-of-
residential-versus-utility-scale-solar)

