Even people with a passing interest in energy know there have
been major changes in the U.S. over the past few years,
including the surge in domestic oil and natural gas drilling and
a jump in renewable energy. How do these broader trends play out
in electricity generation in the U.S.? The Energy Information
Administration last week released its electricity data browser,
which lets you view how fuels for electricity generation have
shifted over the past decade. There’s something in it for Web
developers as well, as this information is available from an
API. It’s part of the Department of Energy’s efforts to publish
more publicly available information to spur innovation and the
creation of applications using energy data. (See, Inventing the
Cleanweb.) First off, what’s the demand for electricity like?
When you look at net generation data for electric utilities
(this excludes independent power producers and co-gen
facilities), you see a clear trend: flat to negative load
growth. If you look at the “all fuels” r