Events
Conference
Facility Calendar - available meeting
space at the NRCCE's conference facilities
NRCCE Events
the NRCCE and the WVU Department of Philosophy present THE QUESTION
"What's the value of energy?"
Join the conversation and add your comments by visiting our blog at http://TheQuestion.blogs.wvu.edu where essayists from different disciplines will give their views and you can respond.
A Potpourri of Energy Facts
- Top 10 states with the cheapest electricity for residential, commercial, and industrial uses for 2006 (according to the US DOE Energy Information Administration):
- 10. Indiana (avg. 6.46 cents/kWh)
- 9. Missouri (avg. 6.3 cents/kWh)
- 8. North Dakota (avg. 6.21 cents/kWh)
- 7. Washington (avg. 6.14 cents/kWh)
- 6. Nebraska (avg. 6.07 cents/kWh)
- 5. Utah (avg. 5.99 cents/kWh)
- 4. Kentucky (avg. 5.43 cents/kWh)
- 3. Wyoming (avg. 5.27 cents/kWh)
- 2. West Virginia (avg. 5.04 cents/kWh)
- 1. Idaho (avg. 4.92 cents/kWh)
- Top 10 states with most expensive electricity for residential, commercial, and industrial uses for 2006 (according to the US DOE Energy Information Administration):
- 10. Maine (avg. 11.8 cents/kWh)
- 9. New Jersey (avg. 11.88 cents/kWh)
- 8. California (avg. 12.83 cents/kWh)
- 7. Alaska (avg. 12.84 cents/kWh)
- 6. New Hampshire (avg. 13.84 cents/kWh)
- 5. Rhode Island (avg. 13.98 cents/kWh)
- 4. Connecticut (avg. 14.83 cents/kWh)
- 3. New York (avg. 15.27 cents/kWh)
- 2. Massachusetts (avg. 15.45 cents/kWh)
- 1. Hawaii (avg. 20.72 cents/kWh)
- It takes about 2,000 Btu's to make a gallon of coffee. What does that mean in dollars and cents? A Btu, or British thermal unit, is the amount of energy needed to raise one gallon of water one degree Fahrenheit at sea level. Monongahela Power charges residential customers 7.4 cents per kWh. One Btu equals 0.00029307107 kilowatt hour. So the electricity cost for a gallon of coffee equals:
.00029307107 kWh/Btu x 2,000 Btu/gallon of coffee x 7.4 cents/kWh = 4.33 cents/gallon of coffee
- The Pittsburgh coal seam in northern West Virginia contains 13,000 Btu/pound of energy. Most coal-fired power plants deliver about 35% to 40% of the coal’s energy to the consumer. So the amount of coal needed to make a gallon of coffee equals:
35% x 13,000 Btu/pound = 4,550 Btu to the coffeemaker/pound of coal 1 pound coal/4,550 Btu to the coffeemaker x 2,000 Btu/gallon of coffee = .439 pounds of coal/gallon of coffee
- France derives over 75% of its electricity from nuclear energy. This is due to a long-standing policy based on energy security. (From the Australian Uranium Association: Learn more)
- France’s nuclear plants range in size between 910 megawatts to 1,400 megawatts. (From the Australian Uranium Association: Learn More)
- One 1,000 megawatt nuclear power plant requires 2.35 square miles of land. (From AIG Global Marine and Energy presentation by Bob Procopo at West Virginia Energy Summit: Learn more)
- One 1,000 megawatt wind farm requires 235 square miles of land, 100 times as much land as a nuclear power plant of the same size. (From AIG Global Marine and Energy presentation by Bob Procopo at West Virginia Energy Summit: Learn more)
- It would take a wind farm covering the entire state of West Virginia to generate the same amount of electricity as all the nuclear plants in the U.S. (From AIG Global Marine and Energy presentation by Bob Procopo at West Virginia Energy Summit: Learn more)
- It would take a solar farm covering the entire state of New Jersey to generate the same amount of electricity as all the nuclear plants in the U.S. (From AIG Global Marine and Energy presentation by Bob Procopo at West Virginia Energy Summit: Learn more)
- One 1,000 megawatt coal-fired power plant requires .54 square miles (350 acres) of land. (From Wind Energy Comes of Age by Paul Gipe)
- U.S. coal-fired electric power plants produce about one-third of carbon dioxide emissions. U.S. transportation system produces about one-third of carbon dioxide emissions. (NETL presentation by Rita Bajura: Learn more)
- The breakdown of energy production for all U.S. energy demands (e.g. transportation, electricity) is: renewables 6%; nuclear 8%; oil 39%; natural gas 24%; coal 23%. (NETL presentation by Rita Bajura: Learn more)
- Since 1970, coal-based electricity has nearly tripled (up 188%)and emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter are lower by one-third (32%). (CEED presentation by Steve Miller: Learn more)
- Households earning $10,000 or less per year spend about 29% of their income on energy, those earning $25,000 per year spend 13% on energy, and those earning $50,000 per year spend 4% on energy. (CEED presentation by Steve Miller: Learn more)
Learn more energy facts at the Energy Information Administration website.
Post Event Information 
- Shenhua Coal-to-Liquid (CTL) Projects - NRCCE - August 30, 2007
- WV Energy Forum - Mine Safety Progress - NRCCE - June 29, 2006
- Environmental Training Institute for Small Communities - National Environmental Services Center - July 24-28, 2006
- National AFV Day Odyssey - National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium - October 12, 2006
- The Energy Forum: A Discussion of West Virginia's New Mine Safety Rules - March 1, 2006
- Coal in your tank: the ultra-clean transportation fuel of the future?
Gerald Huffman - Director, Consortium for Fossil Fuel Science, University of Kentucky [ppt 5.37MB]
Read the State Journal article: Researcher Sees Growing Role For Coal-Based Motor Fuels [jpg 670KB] - 3rd U.S.-China Clean Energy Workshop - October 18-19, 2004
- West Virginia's 2004 National AFV Day Odyssey - April 2, 2004
- Energy Roadmap Workshop Series - 2003 to 2004
- The Central and Southern Appalachian Workshop on the Impact of Climate Variability and Change - 26-29 May 1998