Tennessee
- Population: 6.2 million (U.S. rank: 16)
- GDP: $238 billion (U.S. rank: 18)
- Capital: Nashville
Energy Consumption
- Tennessee ranks among the top 20 energy-consuming states in the country in both absolute terms and a per capita basis. Total energy consumption is 390 mil Btu per capita (U.S. rank: 17).
- The industrial sector is the leading energy consumer (34%) followed by the transportation (28%), residential (22%) and commercial (16%) sectors.
- Tennessee is the highest ranking state in the U.S. in residential electricity consumption per capita.
- More than one-half of Tennessee households use electricity as their primary source of energy for home heating.
Petroleum
- Tennessee has minor petroleum reserves and production rates.
- There is one refinery in the state, which receives its supply via the Capline pipeline. Tennessee also receives petroleum products via pipeline from several systems, including branches of the Colonial and Plantation pipelines.
- Several waterways, including the Mississippi River, provide an important transportation route for interstate petroleum product shipments.
Natural Gas
- Tennessee has minor natural gas reserves and minimal production.
- Several major natural gas pipelines from the Gulf Coast supply Tennessee.
- Approximately one-third of households use natural gas as their primary home heating fuel.
Coal
- Tennessee has minor coal reserves in the Appalachian Basin.
- Coal-fired power plants typically generate about three-fifths of the electricity in the state and rely on coal deliveries from other states by railroad and river barge.
Nuclear
- Tennessee ranks among the leading nuclear power producers in the country.
- There are two plants located in the southern part of the state.
- The single-unit Watts Bar Nuclear Plant began commercial operation in 1996 and was the last new nuclear reactor to be brought online in the U.S.
Renewable Energy
- A 100-million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant is currently under construction near Obion and is expected to be operational by the late summer or early fall of 2008.
- The state has one of the highest potentials for hydroelectric power production in the U.S. because of the Tennessee and Cumberland river systems.