Our Electricity

Where it comes from and what you can do to conserve it.

How Much are we using?

• In 2006, the United States consumed approximately 4,064,702,000 megawatt hours of electricity.1

• 1,990,511,000 megawatts of which were generated by coal.1

• This equates to approximately 1,026,363,000 tons of coal burned.

• This is the energy equivalent of approximately 154,769,023,809 gallons of gasoline.

• These numbers increase each year.1. US Department of Energy

Coal: The Good

• Coal is the easiest, least inexpensive fuel to use to generate electricity.

• Coal power plants are the cheapest type of power plants to operate, which makes one unit of coal generated electricity cheaper than electricity from any other source

• There are HUGE coal reserves right here in the U.S. so we don’t have to rely on foreign nations for it.

Coal: The Bad• Coal releases the most

carbon dioxide per unit of energy. Carbon dioxide is blamed as the number one cause of the Global Warming theory

• Without proper filtration, coal fired power plants can release mercury, sulfur, and various other chemicals in the air.

Other Electricity Sources

• Second to coal, Natural Gas was used to produce 816,441,000 megawatt hours of electricity in 20061

• In third place, Nuclear power plants produced 787,219,000 megawatt hours of electricity in 20061

• Other energy sources include hydro-electric dams, wind, and solar power,

How to conserve electricity

• Turn off your lights when you leave your room.

• Open your window coverings instead of turning on your lights during the day.

• Un-plug your TV when you aren’t watching it. A TV on standby can use as much as 15 watts of electricity.

• Only turn on your computer when you need it.

Submitted by Kameron Ray,

Resident Assistant,

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology