This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.

January 16, 2013

Energy Department Launches Clean Energy Economy Web Tool

The Energy Department on January 9 announced a new interactive online tool to help researchers, educators, and students explore future U.S. energy-use scenarios. The Buildings, Industry, Transportation, and Electricity Scenarios (BITES) tool allows users to adjust inputs, such as electricity generation and transportation fuel use, to compare carbon dioxide emissions outcomes and impacts on the U.S. energy mix.

The energy-use scenarios and analytical framework behind BITES were originally developed for the Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by the Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory to help identify and implement new research and technical opportunities that will have the greatest impact on achieving our national energy goals. The BITES tool demonstrates that continued technology and policy deployment is needed in every energy sector to meet U.S. climate and energy security goals. BITES can also be a useful tool for students and educators who focus on how research, policy, or other forms of national action can impact U.S. energy use. See the Energy Department's Progress Alert.