Gold Medal for Green Energy

Abstract

In the 1960s, technological advancements and social awareness increased the demand for production and consumption of energy to be clean and renewable. In order to take advantage of varying resources, governments will form interstate energy compacts. Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas wish to form a realistic new energy compact which focuses on increased usage of cleaner, renewable energy sources. We identified the state of California to have the “best’’ energy profile, since it has the highest positive trend in renewable energy consumption. Texas ranks second in our energy profile and is accelerating in their applications of renewable energy, however is still lagging in their high usage of oil and natural gas. Arizona ranks third in our model, as they have actually decreased in renewable energy recently and has stayed steady in their use of coal, oil and natural gas. Finally, New Mexico ranks last in our model as it is overwhelmingly reliant on coal, oil and natural gas and has only seen a minimal increase in their application of renewable energy. Using linear and multiple regression, we use the data from 1960 to 2009 on total consumption in order to predict each state’s energy profiles in 2025 and 2050. We analyzed energy consumption as a function of population, energy usage per capita, and the passage of time. We also provide states with more general actions to take to help them continue to grow to be more focused on clean and renewable energy