Energy Efficiency Potential Of The Us Freight System

In order to understand the potential to save energy through U.S. freight system efficiency improvements, the authors compare the findings of five studies (three U.S. transportation sector studies and two global supply chain studies) of freight energy savings opportunities. Generally, the supply chain studies find more potential through system efficiency improvements such as optimizing speed and increasing load factor, and they consider strategies often omitted from transportation studies, such as reducing the distance from production to market. More comprehensive analysis is warranted to establish the magnitude of feasible energy savings from freight system efficiency improvements and what policies could lead to such savings.

America's economy and lifestyles have been shaped by the low prices and availability of energy. In the last decade, however, the prices of oil, natural gas, and coal have increased dramatically, leaving consumers and the industrial and service sectors looking for ways to reduce energy use. To achieve greater energy efficiency, we need technology, more informed consumers and producers, and investments in more energy-efficient industrial processes, businesses, residences, and transportation. As part of the America's Energy Future project, Real Prospects for Energy Efficiency in the United States examines the potential for reducing energy demand through improving efficiency by using existing technologies, technologies developed but not yet utilized widely, and prospective technologies. The book evaluates technologies based on their estimated times to initial commercial deployment, and provides an analysis of costs, barriers, and research needs. This quantitative characterization of technologies will guide policy makers toward planning the future of energy use in America. This book will also have much to offer to industry leaders, investors, environmentalists, and others looking for a practical diagnosis of energy efficiency possibilities.

This report focuses on energy use in U.S. transportation, which accounts for over 60 percent of U.S. oil consumption.

It is not intended to model or quantify the impacts of each policy option over time but instead to examine the means by which each influences behavior and the demand for and supply of energy- and emissions-saving technology, particularly in the modes of transportation with the greatest effect on the sector's consumption of petroleum and emissions of GHGs. In choosing among policies, elected officials must take into account many factors that could not be examined in this study, such as the full range of safety, economic, and environmental implications of their choices; therefore, the report does not recommend a specific suite of policies to pursue. Instead, the emphasis is on assessing each policy approach with regard to its applicability across transportation modes and its ability to affect the total amount of energy-intensive transportation activity, the efficiency of transportation vehicles, and GHG emissions characteristics of the sector's energy supply.

For multi-user PDF licensing, please contact customer service. Energy touches our lives in countless ways and its costs are felt when we fill up at the gas pump, pay our home heating bills, and keep businesses both large and small running. There are long-term costs as well: to the environment, as natural resources are depleted and pollution contributes to global climate change, and to national security and independence, as many of the world's current energy sources are increasingly concentrated in geopolitically unstable regions. The country's challenge is to develop an energy portfolio that addresses these concerns while still providing sufficient, affordable energy reserves for the nation. The United States has enormous resources to put behind solutions to this energy challenge; the dilemma is to identify which solutions are the right ones. Before deciding which energy technologies to develop, and on what timeline, we need to understand them better. America's Energy Future analyzes the potential of a wide range of technologies for generation, distribution, and conservation of energy. This book considers technologies to increase energy efficiency, coal-fired power generation, nuclear power, renewable energy, oil and natural gas, and alternative transportation fuels. It offers a detailed assessment of the associated impacts and projected costs of implementing each technology and categorizes them into three time frames for implementation.

"On January 29, 2009, the RAND Corporation hosted a panel discussion with three former U.S. Secretaries of Transportation [William T. Coleman, Jr., James H. Burnley IV, and Rodney Slater]. This wide-ranging discussion, held the week after President Barack Obama's inauguration and during the congressional debate over the stimulus package (eventually passed as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009), allowed the former secretaries to share their insights into transportation policymaking"--Preface