Electric power industry growth

Demand for natural gas, in all markets—residential, commercial, and industrial—is projected to grow into the foreseeable future, particularly in the electric power generation market and the industrial sector. Total natural gas use in the United States is projected to grow from 20.1 quadrillion British thermal units in 1992 to 26.1 by 2010, an average growth rate of 1.6 percent per year. 

O Conner, J.J., Today s Electric Motors Major Key in Modem Industrial Growth, Power, special report, p. 73, June (1955). 

Photovoltaics may provide a revolution in the supply of electric power. Still, to ensure that new buildings contribute to sustainable development a less cautious bureaucracy is needed, which is less resistant to new ideas and not associated with vested interests, especially in the non-renewable electricity industry. Logistical problems have also damped solar energy growth. This includes the difficulty of finding reputable contractors to install solar panels. 

T he probable growth of electrical generating capacity by the year 2000 has been projected to be about 1750 X 109 watts. Of this the total nuclear capacity is estimated to be 800 X 109 watts. We are well aware that major by-products of the nuclear power industry are the radioactive wastes involved. The U. S. Energy Research and Development Administration predicts a total of about 100,000 Megacuries of high level wastes produced by the year 2000. 

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