Past energy-consumption trends and future energy-conservation opportunities are investigated for the nation's iron and steel industry. It is estimated that, in 1980, the industry directly consumed approximately 2.46 x 1015 Btu of energy (roughly 3% of total US energy consumption) to produce 111 million tons of raw steel and to ship 84 million tons of steel products. Direct plus indirect consumption is estimated to be about 3.1 x 1015 Btu. Of the set of conservation technologies identified, most are judged to be ready for commercialization if and when the industry's capital formation and profitability problems are solved and the gradual predicted increase in energy prices reduces the payback periods to acceptable levels.

Energy is an important cost factor in the U.S iron and steel industry. Energy efficiency improvement is an important way to reduce these costs and to increase predictable earnings, especially in times of high energy price volatility. There are a variety of opportunities available at individual plants in the U.S. iron and steel industry to reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective manner. This Energy Guide discusses energy efficiency practices and energy-efficient technologies that can be implemented at the component, process, facility, and organizational levels. A discussion of the structure, production trends, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions of the iron and steel industry is provided along with a description of the major process technologies used within the industry. Next, a wide variety of energy efficiency measures are described. Many measure descriptions include expected savings in energy and energy-related costs, based on case study data from real-world applications in the steel and related industries worldwide. Typical measure payback periods and references to further information in the technical literature are also provided, when available. The information in this Energy Guide is intended to help energy and plant managers in the U.S. iron and steel industry reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective manner while maintaining the quality of products manufactured. Further research on the economics of all measures?and on their applicability to different production practices?is needed to assess their cost effectiveness at individual plants.

Taken from a report for the Electric Power Research Institute, Joy Dunkerley’s study aims to clarify the relationship between energy consumption and economic output in industrialised countries. Originally published in 1980 and using data from 1972, this study uses cross-country comparisons of energy use to stress the importance of new supply options and measures of controlling energy use without affecting living standards whilst also discussing the impact of energy prices and economic growth in the countries studied. This title will be of interest to students of environmental studies.