Just in case you were thinking that you were using 447 million Btu per year, the majority of that 447 million Btu is taken up by industrial uses. In actuality, the average Indiana resident uses approximately 87.3 million Btu per year. How does this add up so quickly? Well, if you left a 60 watt light bulb on for eight hours every day over a year, it would add up to about 600,000 Btu. If you left about 150 60 watt light bulbs on for eight hours a day over the year, you would get about 87 milllion Btu per person per year. Turning off light switches does help!
In Indiana, 94% of our electricity is generated from non-renewable energy resources, namely, from burning coal. About 5% comes from burning natural gas. The other 1% comes from miscellaneous sources; although, this number is growing since 2008 when Indiana’s first utility-scale wind project in Benton County came online. It might comfort you to know that while the majority of our energy resources come from non-renewable sources, Indiana is a net exporter of energy. We actually consume a little less than the average American (per capita). In 2008, our 6.4 million Hoosiers consumed about 2,857 trillion Btu of energy (about 2.9% of the total US energy consumption and 447 million Btu per person). You can compare this to the 37 million Californians who used 8,381 trillion Btu (about 8.4% of the total US energy consumption and 229 million Btu per person), and the 24.8 million Texans who used 11,552 trillion Btu (about 11.6% of the total US energy consumption and 475 million Btu per person; US Department of Energy.) The links in this paragraph are not required reading – but might be incredibly fascinating if you want to know more.
Average cost of a kilowatt of electricity per state and the amount of energy per state derived from burning coal. States with high population and limited access to coal pay the most for electricity. (Image: National Mining Association.) Click for an enlarged imaged.
Electricity
Where does your electricity come from? All of it originates from power plants that burn coal or nuclear power plants in adjoining states. In either case, the energy from burning fuel produces steam that spins electricity generating devices. Most large power plants are connected into regional energy grids, which are designed to move power quickly around the country. It also allows distant power stations to provide electricity for cities and towns whose generators failed or are under repair. Smaller plants tend to provide power to the local power grid. Power lines do not follow state lines, so your electricity could be coming from both nuclear power plants in Illinois and coal-fired plants in Kentucky. Since many large power plants are located in rural areas of Indiana, most of their power is sent to regional large cities like Indianapolis, but also Chicago, Louisville, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. The largest of power plants (often located in rural areas) may be providing power for people several states away.
Elsewhere in the U.S., hydroelectric, where water moving through a dam, supplies a majority of electricity in western states. Many coastal states also burn oil instead of coal to produce electricity.