Electricity generation, the process of producing electric power from sources of primary energy, is typically the first stage in the delivery of electricity by utility companies to consumers. In 2022,
stood at approximately 4.2 petawatt hours, more than double the generation reported half a century earlier. The North American country is the second-largest
, ranking only behind China. While its annual electricity output has remained fairly stable in the past decade, the sources fueling it have undergone a major transformation in the period.
Out with coal, in with natural gas
In 2022, fossil fuels remained the predominant
source of electricity generation in the U.S., accounting for around 60 percent of the national output. Natural gas alone accounted for roughly 40 percent, having increased its contribution significantly over the past decade. In fact,
electricity generation from natural gas grew by more than one petawatt-hour since the beginning of the century, amounting to nearly 1.7 petawatt-hours in 2022. In contrast, that same year,
coal-fired electricity in the U.S. stood at around 830 terawatt-hours. For years the leading source of electricity in the country, the “dirtiest” of fossil fuels, has been recently overtaken by natural gas. Pressure is mounting for coal’s phase-out, which is seen as an important step towards reaching greenhouse gas emission targets.
The future is looking green
After pulling out of the Paris Agreement under the Trump era, the U.S. government, under the administration of President Joe Biden, has released a series of ambitious targets in order to cut down on emissions, including having 80 percent of electricity generated by clean sources by 2030. Its achievement relies mostly on the expansion of wind and, particularly, solar power. Following suit, these two sources accounted for over 70 percent of
electricity capacity additions in the U.S. in 2022. However, there is still a long road ahead. In 2022, the share of renewables in the country’s electricity mix stood at approximately 20 percent, with
wind power generation adding up to some 435 terawatt-hours. While the share of wind and solar power in total generation has increased exponentially in recent years, the contribution of nuclear energy to the country’s power mix has remained mostly stable in the past decade, at an average of 20 percent.
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