Energy generation

        When you walk into a room and turn the light on do you think of what energy source is being used to power this everyday task? At the rate the United States has been using electricity if environmental decisions to change energy sources had no been put in place in the past we would be in big trouble. The US Energy Information Administration, is an organization that collects, analyzes, and disseminates energy information. This administration was the data source for this study, it calculated different energy sources used in each state from 1990-2018. The state chosen for this study was Maryland. In class we constantly discuss different forms of energy but natural gas stands out in our data results. We learned that there are 1,793 natural gas power plants in the United States and it is the primary source of energy in 19 states. Although, in the data for the state of Maryland the primary source is nuclear, natural gas is still second in the ranking. The United States over the past couple of decades has pushed to make energy more environmentally friendly and in the data it shows that the decrease of gas emission is due to nuclear and natural resources. 

        The first data analyzed a state level mix of energy sources using a continuous area chart. The area chart was chosen because it is effective in displaying colors through graphical quantitative data. The variables were “year” and “percent of total generated” in the state of Maryland. This chart shows the top three energy sources coal, nuclear, and natural gas from 1990 to 2018, also displaying other sources, which is just a group of less significant forms of energy. Since 1990 coal used to be the largest source for energy until 2009 when it became less prominent and nuclear power started to take its place. In 2015 natural gas started to be used more also causing the decline of coal use. This indicates there is a positive relationship between time and percent of total generation. This also proves this chart is cardinal. It displays the ranking of the utility value for different energy sources used in the state of Maryland. From the data it is apparent that in 1990 the order of preferences was coal, other sources, natural gas, nuclear but in 2018 it is nuclear, natural gas, coal, other sources. This is quantifiable for all different options regarding energy sources. 

        The second data was computed through a bump chart. This chart was used because they are useful for exploring the changes in rank of a value over a time dimension. The variables were “year” and “Maryland's energy sources.” This chart shows the ranking of Maryland's top ten energy sources used over the past three decades. This is an ordinary graph because it ranks each source for each year. Petroleum was a very sporadic source that never really stayed constant. In 2012 it started to spike and in 2014 it hit 5th place but shortly after ended up in 10th. Another energy source that stuck out was solar. It appeared on the bump chart in 2008 and has continued to rise since then. The Solar Energy Industry Association, a non-profit energy trade corporation, gives insight to changes in Maryland stating, “The Maryland Energy Admission regulates the rates for energy programs, policies, and energy saving strategies. They pushed for more solar by giving a large tax credit if industries switch. In 2012 solar farms were completed, this photovoltaic project has the capacity to generate 20 MW of electricity. Additionally, large retailers have gone solar including Albertsons, Delmarva Feed, and IKEA by installing a 4MW capacity at each location”(SEIA). In 2012 large industries switched to solar energy due to the tax credit policy, which had an impact on the increase of the solar energy the past couple of years in Maryland. 

        The third data was computed through a custom legend. Legends are used to explain characteristics in a simplified visualization of order. The variables are “energy source” and a custom measure of “min10.” This graph is a filter for the bump chart. On the dashboard it allows to depict what source each line is on the bump chart by clicking on the line, which will cause one of the squares on the custom legend to light up. The New York Times wrote the article How Does Your State Make Electricity, which gives a breakdown of different energy sources for each state in the United States. This newspaper conveys, “Maryland consumes more electricity than it generates and imports nearly half of its power from other Mid-Atlantic States through the regional grid” (Popovich). Although Maryland has become more economically friendly by reducing their coal use significantly and moving nuclear power to the top it still uses too much power being used.