I have been discussing Missouri’s consumption of energy by source, on a total consumption basis, on a per capita consumption basis, and on a per unit of economic output basis. Here I discuss consumption of energy by source per unit of inflation-adjusted economic output.

The graph at right shows for each major energy source the number of Btu required to produce a dollar of economic output in Missouri. The dollars are inflation adjusted. The shape of the graph looks very different from the one in the previous post because this graph only covers the years 1987-2010, where the previous one went back to 1963. One of the challenges I have encountered in trying to explore this information is that every website presents its data differently, and they don’t always cover the same years. The sources I consulted did not have Missouri’s Gross State Product for years prior to 1987. In addition, the data was in two different series, one using 1997 dollars, and one using 2005 dollars. The 1997 dollars have been adjusted to 2005 dollars.

The blue line at the top is coal, the orange line is gasoline, the red line is natural gas, and the green line is distillate fuel oil (includes diesel and heating oil).

During the 1960s, natural gas was the most consumed fuel, but by the time this graph starts, coal is the most consumed, significantly above the other sources. Its consumption declined until 1994, then rebounded. The lines for gasoline and natural gas generally show a slight downward slope, meaning that fewer Btu of these fuels were required to produce a unit of economic output, even adjusting for inflation. The other lines, however, generally do not show significant decreases.

Looking at this data, it seems difficult to claim that Missouri’s economy has become significantly more energy efficient over the years.

This concludes my exploration of Missouri’s energy use by source. The next several posts will explore Missouri’s energy consumption by sector.

Sources:

For energy consumption: Table CT2. Primary Energy Consumption Estimates, Selected Years, 1960-2010, Missouri, Missouri State Profile and Energy Estimates, Energy Information Administration, http://www.eia.gov/state/seds/data.cfm?incfile=/state/seds/sep_use/total/use_tot_MOcb.html&sid=MO.

For Gross State Product: GDP and Personal Income, Regional Data, Bureau of Economic Analysis, http://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=70&step=1#reqid=70&step=1&isuri=1.