Electricity demand declining in U.S. manufacturing, EIA says

Electricity use in the U.S. manufacturing sector has declined in recent years due in part to electricity generated onsite, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The EIA found, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census Annual Survey of Manufacturers, that many manufacturers generate their own electricity in addition to pulling directly from the electric grid.

From 2006 through 2016, the manufacturing sector purchased 87 to 89 percent of their electricity from the grid and generated the remaining 11 to 13 percent on site.

In 2016, the manufacturing sector generated 110 million megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity. Roughly 97 percent of this electricity came from five manufacturing groups: chemicals, paper, petroleum and coal, primary metals, and food.

Industrial onsite generation from combined heat and power (CHP) technology provides the opportunity for increased system resiliency and has operational benefits. However, onsite generation is concentrated in a few manufacturing groups. Chemical manufacturing generated roughly 46 million MWh of onsite generation. This was primarily concentrated in three sub-groups: other basic inorganic chemical manufacturing, other basic organic chemical manufacturing, and plastics material and resin manufacturing.

Paper manufacturing’s onsite generation provided 35 million MWh. It was mostly concentrated in pulp mills, paper mills, and paperboard mills.

Also, petroleum and coal product manufacturing generated 19 million MWh of onsite electricity. It is nearly all generated by petroleum refiners.