Energy Consumption by Source Statistics

Each day, American citizens contribute to our nation’s primary energy consumption and the demand for electricity generation–whether it’s via transportation, work in the industrial or commercial sectors, or simply using electricity in your own home. But have you ever wondered how much of that electricity consumption is fueled by renewable versus non-renewable energy sources? 

Read on for a breakdown on the U.S.’s primary energy consumption by source.

Key Takeaways

• The majority of the U.S.’s primary energy consumption comes from petroleum, followed by natural gas, renewables, coal, and nuclear electric power respectively.
• The end-use sector for each form of energy varies drastically. The transportation sector consumes the majority of energy at 37% (EIA).

Petroleum

• According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), energy from petroleum comprises the majority of U.S. primary energy use, about 36%.
• Petroleum indicates crude oil, or energy derived from fossil fuels (a nonrenewable energy source that contributes to greenhouse gas emissions).
• 3% of the petroleum energy produced in the U.S. is consumed by the residential sector, comprising  8% of the energy that sector consumes (EIA).
• 2% of the petroleum energy produced in the U.S. is consumed by the commercial sector, comprising  10% of the energy that sector consumes (EIA).
• 25% of the petroleum energy produced in the U.S. is consumed by the industrial sector, comprising  34% of the energy that sector consumes (EIA).
• 69% of the petroleum energy produced in the U.S. is consumed by the transportation sector, comprising 90% of the energy that sector consumes (EIA).
• The other 1% of the U.S.’s petroleum energy is consumed by the electric power sector (including electricity retail sales and electrical system energy losses) (EIA).
• In 2022 alone, the U.S. consumed an average of 20.28 million barrels of petroleum per day, for a total of about 7.4 billion barrels for that year. 
• Only a small amount of crude oil is consumed in the U.S.–the rest is refined into petroleum products like gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and heating oil (EIA).
  • Motor oil accounts for the majority of petroleum use nationally, 44% in 2021.
  • Distillate fuel oil accounts for 20% of U.S. petroleum consumption.
  • Hydrocarbon gas liquids account for 17% of U.S. petroleum consumption.
  • Jet fuel and aviation liquids account for 7% of U.S. petroleum consumption.
  • Other miscellaneous petroleum products account for the remaining 11% of U.S. petroleum consumption.
• As of 2019, the U.S. was the largest consumer of petroleum globally, accounting for 20.5% of total world petroleum consumption. The U.S. was followed by China with 14%, India with 4.9%, Japan with 3.7%, and Russia with 3.7% (EIA).
• U.S. petroleum consumption is predicted to increase in most years through 2050, and to be about 14% greater in 2050 than in 2021 (EIA).

Natural Gas

• Energy from natural gas comprises 32% of U.S. total energy consumption, making it the second leading source of energy (behind only petroleum).
• Natural gas is also a fossil fuel-based, nonrenewable form of energy, made up of a mix of gases all rich in hydrocarbons.
• 15% of the energy derived from natural gas produced in the U.S. is consumed by the residential sector, comprising  42% of the energy that sector consumes (EIA).
• 11% of the energy derived from natural gas produced in the U.S. is consumed by the commercial sector, comprising  37% of the energy that sector consumes (EIA).
• 33% of the energy derived from natural gas produced in the U.S. is consumed by the industrial sector, comprising  40% of the energy that sector consumes (EIA).
• 3% of the energy derived from natural gas produced in the U.S. is consumed by the transportation sector, comprising  4% of the energy that sector consumes (EIA).
• The other 37% of the U.S.’s natural gas energy is consumed by the electric power sector (including electricity retail sales and electrical system energy losses) (EIA).
• In 2022 alone, the U.S. consumed about 32.31 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas (the equivalent of 33.41 quadrillion British thermal units).
• Texas is the largest natural gas-consuming state at 15.2% of the national total, followed by California with 6.8%, Louisiana with 5.9%, Pennsylvania with 5.7%, and Florida with 5% (EIA).

Renewable Energy

• 7% of the renewable energy produced in the U.S. is consumed by the residential sector, comprising  7% of the energy that sector consumes (EIA).
• 3% of the renewable energy produced in the U.S. is consumed by the commercial sector, comprising  3% of the energy that sector consumes (EIA).
• 19% of the renewable energy produced in the U.S. is consumed by the industrial sector, comprising  9% of the energy that sector consumes (EIA).
• 12% of the renewable energy produced in the U.S. is consumed by the transportation sector, comprising  5% of the energy that sector consumes (EIA).
• The other 59% of renewable energy in the U.S. is consumed by the electric power sector (including electricity retail sales and electrical system energy losses) (EIA).
• All renewable forms of energy combined provide 12% of the U.S.’s primary energy consumed (EIA).
• Wind energy provides 27% of the power from renewable energy sources consumed in the U.S. (EIA).
• Solar (photovoltaic) power provides 12% of the clean energy consumed in the U.S. (EIA).
• Geothermal energy provides 2% of the renewable energy consumed in the U.S. (EIA).
• Hydroelectric power provides for 19% of renewable energy consumption in the U.S. (EIA).
• Biomass power (including biofuels (19%), wood (17%), and biomass waste (4%)) provides the majority of the U.S.’s renewable energy at 40% (EIA).
• As of August 2021, 33 states, Washington, D.C., and three U.S. territories had standards or goals in place for renewable portfolio growth. These standards are projected to support the creation of an additional 90 gigawatts in electricity projects by 2030 (University of Michigan).

Coal

• Less than 1% of the energy derived from coal produced in the U.S. (0.8 million short tons of coal) is consumed by the commercial sector, comprising less than 1% of the energy that sector consumes (EIA).
• 9% of the energy derived from coal produced in the U.S. (43.4 million short tons of coal) is consumed by the industrial sector, comprising  4% of the energy that sector consumes (EIA).
• The other 90% of the U.S.’s coal energy (501.4 million short tons of coal) is consumed by the electric power sector (including electricity retail sales and electrical system energy losses) (EIA).
  • The electric power sector’s use of coal has skyrocketed since 1950, when 91.87 million short tons of coal were consumed by that sector alone. Peaking in 2007, the electric power sector consumed 1,045.14 million short tons of coal (EIA). 
  • The electric power sector has increased its consumption of coal exponentially compared to other sectors, whose consumption of coal used to be relatively comparable. In 1950, the transportation sector consumed 63.01 million short tons (MMst) of coal, the residential and commercial sectors consumed 114.58 MMst, coke plants consumed 104.01 MMst, and other parts of the industrial sector consumed 120.62 MMst. Today, all of these sectors’ coal consumption is negligible compared to the electric power sector (less than 10% of all consumption combined) (EIA).
• In 2021, about 546 million short tons (MMst) of coal were consumed in the U.S. This was the smallest amount of coal consumed in a year since 1964, and the second-lowest percentage of total U.S. energy consumption (behind 2020) since at least 1949 (EIA).

Nuclear Electric Power

• 100% of the nuclear energy produced in the U.S. is consumed by the electric power sector (including electricity retail sales and electrical system energy losses).
• 28 states have at least one commercial nuclear reactor.
  • Illinois has more reactors than any other state–11 reactors at six plants (EIA).
  • The largest nuclear reactor in the U.S. is located in Mississippi–the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station in Port Gibson, with an electricity generating capacity of about 1,400 megawatts (EIA).
  • The two smallest nuclear reactors in the U.S. are located in Red Wing, Minnesota at the Prairie Island nuclear plant, with a net summer generating capacity of about 520 megawatts each (EIA).
  • Two new nuclear reactors are under construction in Georgia. Each has a planned capacity of about 1,100 megawatts (EIA).
• Nuclear capacity and generation have both skyrocketed in recent years for the U.S. In 1957, the country’s total nuclear capacity was 0.06 thousand megawatts, with an actual generation of 10,000 megawatt-hours. In 2021, the U.S.’s capacity reached 95.49 thousand megawatts, with an actual generation of 778,152 thousand megawatt-hours (EIA).
• While new nuclear capacity generation continues to be added, retirement and decreasing availability of certain types of nuclear reactors means there will likely be less nuclear capacity generation in 2050 than in 2021 (EIA).
• The average annual capacity factor for nuclear power plants was 92.7% in 2021, which means nuclear power plants tend to reach more of their electricity generation potential than other types of power plants (EIA).

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the energy landscape, it’s essential to also consider emerging trends like AI energy consumption.