According to the 2018 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, energy efficiency, and the usage of natural gas and renewable energy last year created significant economic benefits without increasing energy consumption or greenhouse gas emissions. The widespread deployment of renewable energy grew at an almost-record pace, with the US now a major player in the world’s liquefied natural gas market. This resulted in US greenhouse gas emissions reaching a 25-year low.

In the US, the main source of power generation was still natural gas, while wind, solar and hydroelectric power generation accelerated renewable energy use to account for 18% of the total electricity mix in 2017. Energy productivity, defined as “the amount of GDP produced by a unit of energy,” rose 2.5% in the US, while consumers allocated only 1.3% of their expenditures to electricity, which is an all-time low. Electricity sector emissions also decreased, dropping 4.2% to the lowest level in the country in over 27 years. Investments in global clean energy totaled $333 billion, the second-highest total recorded, with the US investing $57 billion and deploying capital towards wind and smart energy technologies.

For the first time, the US was a net exporter of natural gas in all 12 months of 2017. The renewable energy, energy efficiency and natural gas sectors provided approximately three million Americans with employment, with energy efficiency standing out as the largest employer among the sectors. Since 2008, US primary energy usage has fallen 1.7%, while GDP has grown 15.3%.
Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance