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Report issued by the Bureau of Mines over studies conducted on energy production and consumption. Results of the study are presented. This report includes tables, and illustrations.

The report provides a broad overview of energy choices facing the Nation. It is not an exhaustive analysis of any one technology; rather, it draws together the main themes of OTA reports from the past 16 years, and other documents, into an outline of the main directions the country could follow.

This report focuses on energy use in U.S. transportation, which accounts for over 60 percent of U.S. oil consumption. The report attempts to put these opinions into context by examining the current status of the system and evaluating critical problems such as congestion, presenting forecasts of future energy use, making some pointed comparisons with European transportation, and describing and evaluating a range of options for saving energy.

"OTA-E-364"--P. [4] of cover. ; "September 1990"--P. [4] of cover. ; Shipping list no.: 90-631-P. ; Includes bibliographical references. ; Mode of access: Internet.

Policy makers and households are concerned about the impact of rising energy prices on low-income households. In a trend starting in the 1970s, low-income households are spending an increasingly disproportionate share of their income on home energy. The burden on a household imposed by energy prices can be analyzed through four factors: energy price, energy consumption, income level, and level of assistance provided to help with the costs of energy. The combination of these factors indicates that the energy burden is continuing to be disproportionately large for the nation's poor. Therefore, policy makers make further efforts to alleviate this burden by modifying energy pricing regulation.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under the administration's National Energy Policy, the Department of Energy (DOE) is promoting nuclear energy to meet increased U.S. energy demand. In 2003, DOE began developing the Next Generation Nuclear Plant, an advanced nuclear reactor that seeks to improve upon the current generation of operating commercial nuclear power plants. DOE intends to demonstrate the plant's commercial application both for generating electricity and for using process heat from the reactor for the production of hydrogen, which then would be used in fuel cells for the transportation sector. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 required plant design and construction to be completed by 2021. This testimony, which summarizes a GAO report being issued today (GAO-06-1056), provides information on DOE's (1) progress in meeting its schedule for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant project and (2) approach to ensuring the project's commercial viability. For the report, GAO reviewed DOE's research and development (R&D) plans for the project and the reports of two independent project reviews, observed R&D activities, and interviewed DOE, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and industry representatives."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Act) contains provisions that address challenges to developing geothermal resources, including the high risk and uncertainty of developing geothermal power plants, lack of sufficient transmission capacity, and delays in federal leasing. Among the provisions are means to simplify federal royalties on geothermal resources while overall collecting the same level of royalty revenues. This testimony summarizes the results of a recent GAO report, GAO-06-629. In this testimony, GAO describes: (1) the current extent of and potential for geothermal development, (2) challenges faced by developers of geothermal resources, (3) federal, state, and local government actions to address these challenges, and (4) how provisions of the Act are likely to affect federal geothermal royalty disbursement and collections."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is responsible for overseeing the nation's 104 commercial nuclear power reactors to ensure they are operated safely. Since 2000, NRC has used a formal Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) to oversee safety. NRC is also responsible for licensing the construction and operation of new reactors. Electric power companies have announced plans to submit 20 applications in the next 18 months. This testimony is based on GAO reports that reviewed (1) how NRC implements the ROP, (2) the results of the ROP over several years, (3) the status of NRC's efforts to improve the ROP, (4) NRC's efforts to prepare its workforce and manage its workload for new reactor licensing, and (5) NRC's efforts to develop its regulatory framework and review processes for new reactor activities. In conducting this work, GAO analyzed programwide information and interviewed cognizant NRC managers and industry representatives."

Report issued by the Bureau of Mines discussing the heating and cooling requirements for single-family homes. These requirements are determined from "Test Reference Year," or TRY data and long-term geographic climate information. This report includes tables, illustrations, photographs, and a map.

The Annual Energy Outlook 2010 (AEO2010), prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), presents long-term projections of energy supply, demand, and prices through 2035, based on results from EIA's National Energy Modeling System (NEMS).