Big Ideas Lab – "Energy Flow Charts"

Host: Mission.org
Date: December 2, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode takes listeners inside Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), focusing on the story and significance of energy flow charts—colorful, intuitive diagrams the lab has produced since the 1970s. These charts visually depict the journey of energy from source to consumption (and loss) across the US and individual states, shaping national security, policymaking, and even personal choices. Hear from LLNL scientists about how these charts help us understand our past, present, and possible energy futures.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Visualization – What Are Energy Flow Charts?

• In classrooms and government offices alike, LLNL’s energy flow charts make the invisible visible: the sources, uses, and losses of America’s energy.
• The charts are "Sankey diagrams," using colorful, river-like bands to show energy flows from generation to end-use or wastage (aka rejected energy).

"No jargon, no thousand page report. Just a picture you can read in seconds. Where energy comes from, where it goes, and how much is lost. They're Sankey diagrams. Charts that use flow lines to visualize data..."
— A (05:34)

2. Historical Roots — The 1970s Oil Crisis & The Birth of the Flowcharts

• LLNL created the first flow charts in the 1970s, aiming to help the US understand its energy vulnerabilities amid the oil crisis.

"The lab started creating them in 1970, around when the oil crisis was happening."
— C (04:22)

• Early charts were hand-drawn from data mailed in by the Bureau of Mines, simple but powerful tools used by policymakers.

3. Making the Invisible Visible: Rejected Energy

• Over two-thirds of generated energy in the US is wasted as heat, noise, or non-utilized electricity. The “rejected energy” box on the right side of each chart provides a sobering visualization of this inefficiency.

"There is no such thing as a generator that's 100% efficient. That wasted energy, for the most part, is representative of heat losses."
— B/Kimberly Mayfield (06:35)

"America loses more energy than it uses."
— A (07:07)

4. Energy Use in Times of Crisis and Change

• The charts reveal how energy use and source distribution shift in response to events:
  • COVID-19 pandemic: Energy demand nosedived, visible in the annual flowcharts. (07:53)
  • Western US drought (2021): Hydropower decreased, compensated by spikes in natural gas. (08:33)
  • Post-pandemic rebound (2021-22): Surprisingly, coal filled much of the energy gap, as restarting certain systems was easier than others. (09:36)

"It's not that easy to spin things up right away…So what was the energy source that actually came out to help get several states back online after the COVID pandemic? It was coal."
— B/Kimberly Mayfield (09:36)

• Even single events, like a major nuclear plant outage, can be traced in the chart as other sources step in. (10:31)

5. The Future: Dynamic Modeling and Scenario Planning

• The LLNL team aspires to make the charts dynamic, allowing users to run "what if?" scenarios—e.g., if a major source is cut off or demand patterns change.

"We want to make them dynamic in the future so that you can see changes over time. Do what if scenarios. What if we run out of oil? What's going to happen?"
— C (12:21)

• Example: During Russia's invasion of Ukraine, LLNL modeled scenarios for lost petroleum imports, informing national strategy. (12:47)

6. Impacts Beyond Policy—Industry, States, and Individuals

• Companies use flowcharts to decide where to invest based on regional expertise and energy infrastructures. (13:16)
• The charts highlight actionable steps for individuals and households to cut demand and reliance on finite resources.

"We drive cars every day, we turn on lights, we cook, we clean, we do laundry. Right. Where can you cut back to lessen your use?...You could see that where we are dependent."
— C (13:54)

• State agencies, like Hawaii’s Energy Office, have partnered with LLNL to create state-specific, interactive versions—helping public, policymakers, and stakeholders see their own local energy stories. (14:40)

7. Historical Change & Hopes for the Future

• Comparing the original 1970 chart (which had no visible solar and tiny hydro/nuclear lines) to today’s, technological progress becomes clear.
• The team looks forward to adding major new technologies, like nuclear fusion, to future flow charts.

"I hope that in the future I am still working on these energy flowcharts the day that we get to put a nuclear fusion line on that flowchart. Now wouldn't that be cool?"
— B/Kimberly Mayfield (16:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the beauty of restraint:
  "What makes these charts powerful isn't complexity. It's restraint."
  — A (05:34)

• On energy inefficiency:
  "I wish that each state had a little landfill where wasted electrons would go, because then you could actually see the importance of energy efficiency."
  — B/Kimberly Mayfield (07:24)

• On the charts as mirrors and time machines:
  "In the end, these flowcharts aren't just diagrams. They're time machines, mirrors, and even crystal balls."
  — A (15:52)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:00–02:00: Classroom demonstration of an energy flow chart; parallel to national security use
• 04:22: Origin of flowcharts during the 1970s oil crisis
• 05:20–06:35: How the charts are constructed and what they show
• 07:07: Explaining "rejected energy"/energy loss
• 07:53–09:36: How events like the pandemic and drought affect energy flows and visualization
• 10:31: The impact of single plant outages on national energy
• 12:21–13:07: Vision for dynamic charts, scenario analysis, and national security applications
• 14:40–15:42: State-level adoption—Hawaii’s dashboard
• 16:10–16:40: How the charts have changed since 1970 and hopes for the future

Conclusion

This episode reveals how LLNL’s energy flow charts are more than just diagrams—they are accessible, crucial tools for understanding, decision-making, and inspiration, used from fifth-grade classrooms to the situation rooms of government. Their evolution and impact show how visualization can drive awareness, policy, and innovation in America’s quest for a smarter, cleaner, more resilient energy future.