A new government study shows that energy consumption by the U.S. manufacturing sector not only continues to increase but its largest fuel use is natural gas.
The study by the U.S. Energy Information administration, the Manufacturing Energy Consumption Surveys shows the third consecutive increase in energy consumed in the manufacturing sector since a low point in 2010. Natural gas consumption in the manufacturing sector increased by more than all other energy sources combined, as compared with the previous MECS results from 2018.
MECS is a nationally representative sample survey of approximately 15,000 establishments representing 97% to 98% of the manufacturing payroll. MECS collects information on U.S. manufacturing establishments, their energy-related building characteristics, and their energy consumption and expenditures through a web-based questionnaire. MECS reports separate estimates of energy use for 79 different industry subsectors and groups across U.S. manufacturing. MECS was first conducted in 1985; the most recent survey is the 11th iteration.
Some manufacturers consume energy as both a fuel—for heat, power, and electricity generation—and as a feedstock—a nonfuel or material input. MECS uses first use, which excludes quantities of energy that were produced from other energy inputs to avoid double-counting. For example, if an establishment consumes coal to produce coke, the coal is considered first use, but not the coke.
First use of natural gas, hydrocarbon gas liquids (excluding natural gasoline), and electricity increased the most across the manufacturing sector from 2018 and 2022. By contrast, first use of petroleum coke and steam or hot water decreased.
Among the most significant changes for the 2022 MECS is the inclusion of hydrogen estimates, which had previously been aggregated with several other energy sources. The EIA estimated that the first use of hydrogen totaled 170 trillion British thermal units (Btu) in 2022, or more than twice as much as the first use of distillate fuel oil (81 trillion Btu).