United States. Energy consumption has declined recently and is not expected to return to the growth levels seen in the second half of the 20th century, according to a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Projections of the cases mentioned by the EIA in the Annual Energy Outlook 2015 (AEO2015) show that domestic consumption will grow at 0.3% per year until 2040, less than half the rate of population growth. The energy used in homes is essentially flat, and transport consumption will be slightly reduced, which means that the growth of energy consumption will be concentrated in companies and industries.
Increases in energy consumption are mostly related to economic activity, and U.S. industrial and commercial firms are projected to increase production faster than the compensatory influences of improved technologies. Existing policies can also moderate energy consumption. Energy intensity, measured as the amount of energy per unit product, continues to decrease during the projection period. However, industrial energy consumption still rises by 0.7% per year until 2040, while commercial consumption rises by 0.5% per year in the reference case of AEO2015.
The report also indicates that the decline in energy consumption tends to be the result of the adoption of energy efficiency technologies (often affected by policy measures) and structural changes in the economy. Although the residential and transport sectors are different in the way they consume energy, energy consumption in these sectors through 2040 is projected to remain below historical levels.
