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Archive | Ramblings

Power to the People – Progress Report

Every so often, we like to peer into the particular details of U.S. power generation and statistics, here are the current numbers:

What is U.S. electricity generation by energy source?

In 2022, about 4,243 billion kilowatthours (kWh) (or about 4.24 trillion kWh) of electricity were generated at utility-scale electricity generation facilities in the United States.1 About 60% of this electricity generation was from fossil fuels—coal, natural gas, petroleum, and other gases. About 18% was from nuclear energy, and about 22% was from renewable energy sources.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that an additional 58 billion kWh of electricity generation was from small-scale solar photovoltaic systems in 2022.2

U.S. utility-scale electricity generation by source, amount, and share of total in 20221
Data as of February 2023

Energy source Billion kWh Share of total
Total – all sources 4,243
Fossil fuels (total) 2,554 60.2%
Natural gas 1,689 39.8%
Coal 828 19.5%
Petroleum (total) 23 0.6%
Petroleum liquids 16 0.4%
Petroleum coke 7 0.2%
Other gases3 12 0.3%
Nuclear 772 18.2%
Renewables (total) 913 21.5%
Wind 435 10.2%
Hydropower 262 6.2%
Solar (total) 146 3.4%
Photovoltaic 143 3.4%
Solar thermal 3 0.1%
Biomass (total) 53 1.3%
Wood 37 0.9%
Landfill gas 9 0.2%
Municipal solid waste (biogenic) 6 0.1%
Other biomass waste 2 0.1%
Geothermal 17 0.4%
Pumped storage hydropower4 -6 -0.1%
Other sources5 11 0.3%

Source: eia.gov

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Oy, Another Word Rant

Words are interesting things. Letters carefully assembled can convey lofty ideas or simple thoughts. Small words can carry significant meanings. Right down to the arrangement of the characters. Such is the word JOY. The dictionary definition is thus:

joy (joi), n. [OF. joie, fr. L. gaudia, pl. of gaudium
joy, fr. gaudere to rejoice, be glad.] 1. A feeling
of lively pleasure, as that excited by good fortune,
success, or the like; gladness. 2. State of happiness; bliss.
3. That which causes happiness. 4. Gaiety;
merriment. – Syn. See PLEASURE. – v. i. & t. To
rejoice; delight.

If the ‘J’ is removed from the word ‘JOY,’ it becomes OY.

In two letters, OY, is a Yiddish word that means heartache, sadness, sorrow, pain, and grief. A word with precisely the opposite meaning of JOY.

OY.

A word we have become all too familiar with as of late.

A Little Humor

  1. Guitar – What was the slogan of Opporknockity Guitar Co., which sold permanently tuned guitars? ‘Opporknockity only tunes once’.
  2. Dobro – Why do Dobro players keep their fingerpicks hid in the glove compartment? In case of an accident, they don’t want to be mistaken for a banjo player.
  3. Mandolin – A friend of mine named their child – Amanda Lynn. She cannot play the Mandolin.
  4. Banjo 1 – See Banjo 2
  5. Banjo 2 – The definition of Perfect Pitch: When you throw a banjo into a dumpster, and it lands on an accordion.
  6. Fiddle – Q: What do you call an instrument that is not in tune? A: A fiddle.
  7. Harmonica – Best harmonica joke punchline “Well, that’s it! Here’s $10.00. Go get something to eat!”