December 8, 2009
Federal Government Energy Consumption to Rise 36% in 2010
In contrast to rhetoric from the government to reduce residential and commercial energy expenditures, government energy spending is projected to go up dramatically.
In fiscal year 2010, the government is projected to spend $28.8 billion on energy consumption, up a staggering 36 percent from the $21.2 billion spent in 2009. The figures encompass energy used in buildings and operations to vehicles to fuel and resources used by the military, among other elements.
The main cause for the increase is war spending, according to the “Federal Energy Domain” report (registration required) from FedSources, which is a Washington Management Group company.
In all, the U.S. Federal government spends about $58.6 billion a year on energy contracts.
From fuel consumed by its vehicle fleets to energy used to run government facilities, the federal government uses about 1.5 percent of all energy consumed in the U.S. every year.
The report cites the Capitol Power Plant, which runs government offices in Washington, D.C., as particularly costly. The coal-fired plant costs over $130 million a year to run.
In 2010, the government will spend $25.6 billion on energy production, up 32 percent from the $19.4 billion spent in 2009 and the $12.1 billion spent in 2008.
In 2010, the government will spend $4.2 billion on energy management, up from $2.6 billion in 2009 and $600 million in 2008.
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Reader Comments
This increase seems almost impossible to believe, even with the escalation of the war. Is it possible that they are spending more because they are buying more renewable energy?
Tony Welsh | December 8th, 2009
Does this mean that the government will not “lead by example” as stated in his own Oct. 5, 2009 executive order?
Ann | December 8th, 2009
We have a documented (BY the DOE) sustainable technology process that saves lives, reduces health care costs and saves 22% in energy costs for commercial buildings. The DOE is aware of our process but moves very slowly. This Environmental Leader was sent all of the documentation in the hopes they could get through to tell everyone in Washington. They have not even contacted us either. I guess everyone just writes and talks.
Richard Namovich | December 8th, 2009
People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. The U.S. Federal government should reduce their energy consumption by operating more efficiently, not by increase spending for energy efficient gadgets.
The U.S. Federal government should be sustainably steam sanitizing the heating and cooling coils in all of their buildings to reduce energy consumption and improve indoor air quality.
Greg Schulman | December 8th, 2009
I wonder how they are going to cut greenhouse emission since they are going to increase energy consumption
scheng1 | December 9th, 2009
This article helped me very much on my search on energy consumption.
Tyler M. H. | November 22nd, 2010