Regional Energy Strategy Summary

Over the next 30 years, the Chicago metropolitan area will experience growth in population, and likewise, in energy consumption. However, as we increase our awareness on the harmful effects of unchecked growth in energy consumption, energy conservation becomes more crucial in not just improving, but preserving our current quality of life.

Table of Contents

• Executive Summary
• Regional Energy Profile
  • Introduction
  • Energy Consumption
  • Regional Consumption
  • Consumption by County
  • Selected Municipalities
• Regional Energy Strategies
  • Introduction
  • Reducing Consumption
  • Reinvest Scenario
  • Preserve Scenario
  • Innovate Scenario

According to a recent emissions study in the CMAP region, energy consumption in buildings makes up about 63 percentof total greenhouse gas emissions. Another 24percent can be attributed to transportation. These emissions are rising steadily, like elsewhere in the nation and worldwide, and will continue to do so if current behavior and policy trends continue. If we seek to reduce our emissions with mitigation strategies, understanding our energy consumption patterns becomes imperative, since the consumption of energy is a major component of our region's emissions profile.

This Regional Energy Snapshot, prepared by the Center for Neighborhood Technology, is made up of two parts, first the Regional Energy Profile, which depicts energy consumption in the region as it is today and establishes a baseline from which to build, and the Regional Energy Strategies Analysis, which assesses potential strategies that, if implemented, can reduce energy consumption across the region.

A sample of findings:

• 63% of all emissions in the seven-county region in 2005 came from the consumption of electricity and natural gas, or energy use in buildings
• Implementing energy retrofits in half of the existing residential building stock in 2040 would result in a reduction of 294 million therms and 2.4 billion kWh for a cumulative savings of $559 million.
• Implementing energy retrofits in half of the existing commercial accounts would result in a reduction of 248 million therms and 6.2 billion kWh, with a cumulative savings of $681 million in the region

If you're interested in learning more about energy, please download the following CMAP strategy report. Comments and criticisms are encouraged.

Blue Lines photo by Thomas Anderson.