Energy in the United States

Overall energy consumption in 2021[1]

Energy in the United States is obtained from a diverse portfolio of sources, although the majority came from fossil fuels in 2021, as 36% of the nation's energy originated from petroleum, 32% from natural gas, and 11% from coal. Electricity from nuclear power supplied 8% and renewable energy supplied 12%, which includes biomass, wind, hydro, solar and geothermal.[1]

Energy figures are measured in BTU, with 1 BTU equal to 1.055 kJ and 1 quadrillion BTU (1 quad) equal to 1.055 EJ. Because BTU is a unit of heat, sources that generate electricity directly are multiplied by a conversion factor to equate them with sources that use a heat engine.[2]

The United States was the second-largest energy producer and consumer in 2021 after China.[3] The country had a per capita energy consumption of 295 million BTU (311 GJ), ranking it tenth in the world behind Canada, Norway, and several Arabian nations.[3] Consumption was mostly for industry (33%) and transportation (28%), with use in homes (21%) and commercial buildings (18%) making up the remainder.[4][5]

The United States' portion of the electrical grid in North America had a nameplate capacity of 1,213 GW and produced 3,988 TWh in 2021, using 37% of primary energy to do so.[6][7] The country is the second-largest producer and consumer of electricity, behind China.[3] Natural gas overtook coal as the dominant source for electric generation in 2016. While coal use has been dropping, it remained larger than either nuclear or renewables.[6]

  1. ^ a b "U.S. energy facts explained". EIA. June 10, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  2. ^ "Monthly Energy Review". EIA. March 28, 2022. Appendix E p2. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "International". EIA. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference EIA 2.1a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference EIA 2.1b was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b "Monthly Energy Review". EIA. March 28, 2022. 7.2b Electric power sector. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  7. ^ "Electric Power Annual". EIA. November 7, 2022. 4.3. Existing capacity by energy source. Retrieved April 14, 2023.