How much energy does America use in an average day?

According to Wikipedia, we used 25,155 TWh of energy in 2009. According to my calculations, with a population of 307 million, that comes to .224 kwh per day per person. But my zeros could be off.

25,000 terra watt hours/year = 25 Peta watt hours/year

68.5 terra watt hours/day

Will it ever be possible to put even a dent in that with green energy?

To put this in astronomical perspective: According to Wikipedia the total energy absorbed by the Earth from sunlight is:
”...more energy in one hour than the world used in one year [using 2002 figures].[12][13] ...The amount of solar energy reaching the surface of the planet is so vast that in one year it is about twice as much as will ever be obtained from all of the Earth’s non-renewable resources of coal, oil, natural gas, and mined uranium combined.[14]

Photovoltaic (solar cell) technology requires on the order of 10 acres per megawatt generated (ref.). For the whole U.S. it would be thousands of square miles of panels—the equivalent of a small state. In the future efficiency will be improved but demand will (probably) be increased as well.

My point is the energy is there for the taking. Humanity just has to learn how.

According to this the United States used 98 quadrillion BTU in 2010. This is equivalent to 29 trillion KWh which works out at 79.4 billion KWh per day.

@gasman
First, are you saying that it hits the surface of the earth or the cloud cover and the surface?
Second, ¾ of the surface of the earth is water. Are you going to put solar cells on boats? If so, you will be stealing light from plankton who need it to live. You do know that plankton create most of the oxygen we breath and are part of the food chain.
Third, a lot of that sunshine is needed for food growth.
Fourth, many areas of the country have a lot of cloud cover mosty of the time.
Fifth, Then how are you going to distribute the power across the USA?

@flutherother
79.4 billion KWh/day sounds a little light but I will continue to look into it.
Thanks.

@Rock2 All good points. Earth reflects about 30% of solar radiation back to space, so what’s available for collection on dry land amounts to maybe 20% of the original figure – a mere factor of 5 reduction. According to the Wiki article I cited earlier, the world’s biomass consumes a mere fraction – less than 1% – of what it receives in solar energy. World energy consumption by humans (measured in exajoules per year) amounts to an even smaller fraction.

Storage & distribution is a formidable problem. None of this makes sense without technology capable of supplying power at night from robust batteries or other energy storage devices. Room-temperature superconductors (if such is possible) might revolutionize power transmission, but present-day methods might suffice if the energy source is plentiful enough.

While it’s presently inconceivable to harvest solar power at sea, future technology has no such limits. How about some kind of vast oceanic artificial photosynthesis and skimming operations? How about huge thin-film collectors orbiting in space? I lack the imagination to foresee what’s plausible, but I know that the planetary energy budget is overall favorable to supplying mankind’s needs for some time to come, if we’re clever enough.

For a really far-out energy solution, see Dyson sphere…

There’s always the solar updraft tower which allows food production under the “greenhouse canopy.”

@gasman
Don’t get me wrong, I’m for developing every form of energy we can but I don’t want to do what Obama and enviromentalists are doing now which is stopping oil production in hope that alternative engergy sources will step in and take over immediately. It ain’t gona happen. We need to continue to use oil for the forseable future. Let the market decide on the best sources of energy. I know some people are anxious and can’t wait but we must.

Right, we can’t end our dependence on fossil fuel yet. But “letting the market decide” tends to favor short-term expediency at the expense of the long-term good. That’s why government regulation & other public policy is required to make development of future alternative energy sources economically viable.

The sunny desert regions of the US should rather use solarthermal power plants instead of photovoltaics.

@gasman
Letting the market decide give the best solution and give people the greatest freedom. Of course if you think government has the smartest people in it or you think giving .5B to Solyndra was a smart move, go for government control.

@gorillapaws
Solar updraft towers are an interesting idea.

@Rock2 You state that President Obama is stopping oil production, yet the WSJ says that in 2011 there was a 60% increase in drilling rigs in the US.

What is your citation for the assertion that oil production is being slowed, or is going to be stopped?

@GoldieAV16
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/293008/how-obama-choking-us-oil-production-mario-loyola

That increase was on private lands. Obama had nothing to do with that.
In fact he would kill that if he could. How many permits has this administration given out for drilling?

Then there is the Keystone pipeline.

Oil usage is down because Obama has wrecked the economy.

>That increase was on private lands.

False. It is a 60% increase on ALL drilling over the previous year. Apples to apples.

>Oil usage is down

Citation?

>because Obama has wrecked the economy.

Strange, because the economic indicators all point to an improved economy over 4 years ago. Which economic indicator can you cite that indicates a weaker economy (let alone a “wrecked” economy)? (And no, FOX Noise is not an economic indicator.)

@GoldieAV16

I’m not getting into a pissing contest with you because you are off topic.

I’ll just say you’re wrong.

Questioning YOUR statements is off topic?

Interesting.