In the United States, the capability of the manufacturing sector to switch the fuels it uses declined continuously between 1994 and 2014, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) 2014 Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS). [1] Among the most commonly substitutable fuels used in manufacturing, [2] the amount that could readily be switched in less than 30 days dropped from 24% in 1994 to 10% in 2014 (Figure 1). EIA defines fuel switching capability as The short-term capability of a manufacturing establishment to have used substitute energy sources in place of those actually consumed. Capability to use substitute energy sources means that the establishment’s combustors (for example, boilers, furnaces, ovens, and blast furnaces) had the machinery or equipment either in place or available for installation so that substitutions could actually have been introduced within 30 days without extensive modifications.substitutable fuels used in manufacturing, [3] U.S. manufacturing […]