US Energy Flow Super Sankey
In 2017, Otherlab was hired by the Advanced Research Project Agency of the Department of Energy (ARPA-e) to "review all available energy data sources and create an ultra high resolution picture of the U.S. energy economy." Upon their findings they created this massive diagram. It shows all the energy flow in the United States economy from the primary energy sources. The width of each "flow" show the size or amount of energy use or loss. This shows the reader where the biggest gaps are in energy. It is important because the U.S. energy field is huge and complex. As they stated, energy use on a national scale is measured in quads, so 1 quad is equal to 1% of the country's total annual energy use.
This research diagram makes the energy world a bit more tangible to understand. Although complex, when you see the diagram is starts to make more sense. Instead of saying "we need to use less energy" we actually need to use energy more efficiently and effectively. The US Energy Flow Sankey helped me understand the energy system in a way that raw numbers never could. One of the biggest things that stood out to me were visually how obvious the inefficiencies are. The massive width of rejected energy flows is shocking. It makes it clear that a large portion of the energy we produce never actually becomes useful.
I also found it interesting how interconnected the system is. The Sankey diagram does not just show energy sources, it also shows how they split off into different sectors like transportation and industrial. Each sector has its own unique challenges and opportunities. Transportation relies heavily on petroleum, while electricity has a wider mix of sources.
Lord, P. (2025, March 10). US Energy Flow Super sankey. Otherlab. https://www.otherlab.com/blog-posts/us-energy-flow-super-sankey
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