Frequently Asked Questions
What is U.S. electricity generation by energy source?
In 2018, about 4,178 billion kilowatthours (kWh) (or 4.18 trillion kWh) of electricity were generated at utility-scale electricity generation facilities in the United States.1 About 63% of this electricity generation was from fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, petroleum, and other gases). About 20% was from nuclear energy, and about 17% was from renewable energy sources. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that an additional 30 billion kWh of electricity generation was from small-scale solar photovoltaic systems in 2018.2| U.S. electricity generation by source, amount, and share of total in 20181 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Energy source | Billion kWh | Share of total |
| Total - all sources | 4,178 | |
| Fossil fuels (total) | 2,651 | 63.5% |
| Natural gas | 1,468 | 35.1% |
| Coal | 1,146 | 27.4% |
| Petroleum (total) | 25 | 0.6% |
| Petroleum liquids | 16 | 0.4% |
| Petroleum coke | 9 | 0.2% |
| Other gases | 12 | 0.3% |
| Nuclear | 807 | 19.3% |
| Renewables (total) | 713 | 17.1% |
| Hydropower | 292 | 7.0% |
| Wind | 275 | 6.6% |
| Biomass (total) | 63 | 1.5% |
| Wood | 41 | 1.0% |
| Landfill gas | 11 | 0.3% |
| Municipal solid waste (biogenic) | 7 | 0.2% |
| Other biomass waste | 3 | 0.1% |
| Solar (total) | 67 | 1.6% |
| Photovoltaic | 63 | 1.5% |
| Solar thermal | 4 | 0.1% |
| Geothermal | 17 | 0.4% |
| Pumped storage hydropower3 | -6 | -0.1% |
| Other sources | 13 | 0.3% |
2 Small-scale solar photovoltaic systems are electricity generators with less than one megawatt of electricity generating capacity that are usually at or near the location where the electricity is consumed. Most small-scale solar photovoltaic systems are installed on building rooftops.
3 Pumped storage hydroelectricity generation is negative because most pumped storage electricity generation facilities use more electricity than they produce on an annual basis. Most pumped storage systems use fossil fuels or nuclear energy for pumping water to the storage component of the system.
Learn more:
Electric Power Monthly: Chapter 1: Net Generation
Electric Power Annual: Chapter 3: Net Generation
Monthly Energy Review: Electricity
Energy Explained: Electricity in the United States
Last updated: March 1, 2019
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