U.S. Energy in the 21st Century: A Primer

U.S. Energy in the 21st Century: A Primer. Congressional Research Service.  Melissa N. Diaz et al. March 16, 2021.

Since the start of the 21st century, the U.S. energy system has changed tremendously. Technological advances in energy production have driven changes in energy consumption, and the United States has moved from being a net importer of most forms of energy to a declining importer—and a net exporter in 2019. The United States remains the second largest producer and consumer of energy in the world, behind China.

[PDF format, 53 pages].

Energy in America: Energy as a Source of Economic Growth and Social Mobility

Energy as a Source of Economic Growth and Social Mobility.  Center for Strategic & International Studies. Sarah Ladislaw, Jesse Barnett. June 25, 2019

The CSIS Energy Program assessed the existing academic literature, commissioned new research papers, convened an expert summit, and compiled the findings to produce Energy in America: Energy as a Source of Economic Growth and Social Mobility. This report analyzes the ways energy contributes to the challenges and opportunities facing ordinary Americans, covering the impacts of production, distribution, and consumption of energy products in the United States.

The report highlights the new, extra-energy objectives that energy policy is increasingly expected to advance and evaluates their historical efficacy. The authors conclude that while deliberate U.S. energy policy interventions have hitherto achieved mixed results, there are promising developments and best practices that decisionmakers ought to consider. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 55 pages].

The Tech-Enabled Energy Future: Transition by Design

The Tech-Enabled Energy Future: Transition by Design. Council on Foreign Relations. Amy Myers Jaffe March 08, 2019

A new wave of energy innovation is remaking the transportation, electricity, and manufacturing sectors. This so-called fourth industrial revolution is already creating great uncertainty about the future energy landscape, lessening common interests between oil-producing nations and the world’s largest economies. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 30 pages].

Must the Energy Transition Be Slow?Not Necessarily

Must the Energy Transition Be Slow? Not Necessarily. Center for Strategic & International Studies. Nikos Tsafos. September 17, 2018.

 The world needs to shift its energy system to meet its climate targets. The growth in energy demand must slow, and the carbon emitted from that energy must decline. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

 [PDF format, 9 pages].

Energy and Development: Providing Access and Growth

Energy and Development: Providing Access and Growth. Center for Strategic and International Studies. Sarah Ladislaw, Philippe Benoit. November 27, 2017

Energy has played, and will continue to play, a pivotal role in the economic development of the world’s major emerging economies and other developing countries. Increasingly, these countries will serve as the centers of energy-demand growth and energy investments. As such, the decisions they make about how to develop their energy sectors will be important to not only their own development but also in determining future levels of energy consumption, fuel choices, patterns of trade, and other factors. These countries are influenced not only by their own domestic priorities, policies, and regulations, but also by the international investor and donor communities. Several major shifts are taking place in the energy and development landscapes that warrant increased attention from policymakers, academia, and the private sector.

In late 2016 and early 2017, the CSIS Energy and National Security Program conducted research and held workshops to understand these changing dynamics and determine the key questions facing the energy and development sectors about how best to facilitate sustainable strategies for further growth. The initial focus of these workshops was on expanding access, but the issues addressed extended beyond this important poverty-alleviation aspect to broader development objectives. This report summarizes our findings and proposes additional areas for further research. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 32 pages, 10.41 MB].

Annual Energy Outlook 2012 with Projections to 2035

Annual Energy Outlook 2012 with Projections to 2035. U.S. Energy Information Administration. June 2012.

The Outlook focuses on the factors that shape the U.S. energy system over the long term. Under the assumption that current laws and regulations remain unchanged throughout the projections, the AEO2012 Reference case provides the basis for examination and discussion of energy production, consumption, technology, and market trends and the direction they may take in the future. It also serves as a starting point for analysis of potential changes in energy policies. It also includes 29 alternative cases, which explore important areas of uncertainty for markets, technologies, and policies in the U.S. energy economy. Many of the implications of the alternative cases are discussed in the “Issues in focus” section of this report.

[PDF format, 252 pages, 5.87 MB].