Washington's Energy Indicators

6.  Washington’s Energy Intensity — Energy Consumption per Capita

ENERGY CONSUMPTION PER CAPITA IS SIMILAR TODAY TO LEVELS IN 1970. PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION REACHED A LOW IN 1983, BUT GROWTH IN TRANSPORTATION ENERGY CONSUMPTION HAS LED TO STEADY INCREASES SINCE THEN.

Another way to look at Washington’s energy intensity is energy consumption per capita. While the previous indicator demonstrated that Washington continues to create more wealth per unit of energy, here the story is somewhat different. Washington’s per capita energy consumption in 1995 was 272 million Btu. That’s the equivalent of approximately 2,200 gallons of gasoline per person, and is identical to the figure for 1971. Energy consumption per capita declined after 1973 to a low of 236 million Btu per person in 1983, a decline of 21 percent. This was followed by a period of rapid growth between 1983 and the end of the decade. Most of the increase occurred in transportation fuels, as communities began to sprawl and Washingtonians drove more and more miles per year.

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