Petroleum is the primary source of energy in the United States, with a consumption of 35.43 quadrillion British thermal units in 2023. Closely following, the U.S. had 33.61 quadrillion British thermal units of energy derived from natural gas. Energy consumption by sector in the United States Petroleum is predominantly utilized as a fuel in the transportation sector, which is also the second-largest consumer of energy in the U.S. with almost 30 percent of the country’s total energy consumption in 2023. This figure is topped only by the energy-guzzling industrial sector, a major consumer of fossil fuels such as petroleum and natural gas. Renewable energy in the United States Despite the prevalence of fossil fuels in the U.S. energy mix, the use of renewable energy consumption has grown immensely in the last decades to approximately 11 exajoules in 2023. Most of the renewable energy produced in the U.S. is derived from biomass, hydro and wind sources. In 2023, renewable electricity accounted for approximately 22.5 percent of the nation’s total electricity generation.

Petroleum is the most used fuel source in the United States, with a consumption level of 35.43 quadrillion British thermal units in 2023. Natural gas is the second-most common fuel source, with consumption levels rising closer to that of petroleum over recent years. Petroleum use post-financial crisis Petroleum in the United States is primarily used for fueling the transportation sector, generating heat and electricity, as well as in the production of plastics. U.S. consumption of petroleum was at its highest before the 2008 global financial crisis, when the price of crude oil rose dramatically. Petroleum consumption began to increase again in 2013, before dropping significantly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rise of natural gas While petroleum consumption has been lower in the last decade than in the early 2000s, the use of natural gas has risen significantly. Natural gas consumption in the United States has seen record highs in recent years, in part due to lower costs and its growing popularity. The U.S. currently produces more natural gas than any country in the world, followed by Russia.

The electric power sector is the greatest consumer of primary energy in the United States, ahead of the transportation sector. In 2023, power utilities used over 32 quadrillion British thermal units of primary energy, a decrease compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, the transportation sector used 27.94 quadrillion British thermal units worth of primary energy such as oil used for motor fuels.

Industrial activities are the greatest energy end-user sector in the United States, reaching a consumption of some 31 quadrillion British thermal units in 2023, followed by the transportation sector. The U.S. is the second-largest energy consumer in the world, after China. Energy source in the United States Consumption of fossil fuels still accounts for the majority of U.S. primary energy consumption. The transportation sector and electricity generation are the sectors with the largest fossil fuel consumption in the country, mainly relying on oil-based motor fuels and natural gas, respectively. Electricity generation in the United States Although around 60 percent of the electricity generated in the U.S. is derived from natural gas and coal, the use of renewable sources is becoming more common in electricity production, wind the largest increase in wind and solar power. These two clean energy resources are projected to generate as much power as natural gas by 2030.

Primary energy consumption in the United States increased slightly in 2023, when compared to the previous year. Oil was the most used energy source, followed by natural gas and renewable energies. By comparison, the least used energy source was hydroelectricity. In 2023, consumption of oil in the North American country amounted to 35.9 exajoules, while renewables consumption reached 8.8 exajoules.

Primary energy consumption in the United States has oscillated since 1998, peaking at 97.4 exajoules in 2007. By 2023, figures had decreased to nearly 94.3 exajoules. Primary energy refers to energy harvested directly from natural resources, before being transformed into electricity or other secondary or tertiary energy forms. It includes both fossil fuels and renewable sources. United States' primary energy demand: global context The U.S. is the second largest primary energy consumer worldwide, only falling behind China. In 2021, China had a primary energy demand of over 157 exajoules. Rounding out the top three, India ranked third and had a total energy consumption of some 35 exajoules, or roughly 38 percent of the U.S.’s consumption. Energy transition in the U.S. Such high energy demand leads to greater carbon emissions. Consequently, 71 percent of U.S. citizens are in favor of speeding up the transition to clean energy sources, such as wind and solar power. Despite the increase in clean energy investments in the U.S., the country’s main energy sources are still fossil fuels. However, the share of renewables in electricity generation has increased to almost 21 percent as of 2021.

The United States consumed approximately 93.58 quadrillion British thermal units of primary energy in 2023. This was a decrease in comparison to the previous year of roughly one quadrillion British thermal units. Primary energy refers to energy harvested directly from natural resources and includes both fossil fuels and renewable sources. U.S. has one of the highest energy consumptions in the world The U.S. has had a consistently strong demand for energy over the past two decades, ranking second among the largest primary energy consuming countries in the world, following China. As energy consumption increases, so have energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy, causing a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in the country. Energy market shifts Fluctuations since the global financial crisis and energy crisis have resulted in part from destabilized fossil fuel markets. A surge and crash in international oil prices led the United States to invest more in domestic shale oil and natural gas production, as well as clean energy technologies. Renewable investments surged to 141 billion U.S. dollars in 2022.

The transportation sector is the largest consumer of primary fossil fuel energy in the United States. Largely due to reliance on petroleum-based motor fuels, the transportation sector consumed over 26.1 quadrillion British thermal units of fossil fuel energy in 2023. By comparison, fossil fuel consumption within the electric power sector has experienced an overall declining tendency in recent years, following a decline in U.S. electricity generation from coal. Consumption of fossil fuels in the U.S. Historically, the transportation sector and electric power sector consumed more than half of the fossil fuel-produced energy in the country. Being some of the cheapest energy sources on the market, the U.S. came to rely heavily on natural gas and coal in order to power its ever-growing economy, while gasoline and diesel remain the most common motor fuels. Petroleum is the greatest source of primary energy consumption in the U.S. Energy transition Despite the role fossil fuels continue to play in every day life for the U.S. resident, many within the country have urged the U.S. government to adopt more stringent targets to reducing the country's carbon footprint in order to mitigate climate change. An outlook from February 2021 suggest that renewable energy consumption in the U.S. is on track to increase to 21.51 quadrillion British thermal units by 2050. However, this amount is still far lower than the energy needed to offset fossil fuel use.

In the United States, consumption of energy derived from fossil fuels came to approximately 77.2 quadrillion British thermal units in 2023.This represented a decrease of some 1.7 percent in comparison to the previous year. The peak in fossil fuel consumption was recorded in 2018, at 81.28 quadrillion British thermal units. Fossil fuel energies and their use today Fossil fuels are hydrocarbon-containing natural resources formed from the remains of dead plants or animals that have been subject to immense pressure from a buildup of layers over millions of years. There are three major forms of fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas, which are sources of primary energy. The energy demand in the U.S. is largely covered by fossil fuels. In 2022, net electricity generation amounted to 4,243 terawatt hours. Natural gas is the most common fuel type used for electricity generation. Combined with the coal share, fossil fuels account for 60 percent of all power production in the country.Apart from natural gas and coal consumed within the power sector, oil is one of the main energy sources in the U.S. The liquid is predominantly used in the transportation sector as it is refined into petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Oil and natural gas also serve as feed stocks in the petrochemical industry and are the building blocks for a variety of products such as plastics. Despite its prominent use since the Industrial Revolution, fossil fuels are finite resources and burning these fuels has severely impacted Earth's climate. Under the threat of climate change, the pollution caused by fossil fuels has put the whole industry under scrutiny. Burning any fossil fuel produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas which contributes to global warming.

In 2023, primary energy consumption in the United States decreased by 1.2 percent when compared to 2022. The United States remains heavily dependent on the oil industry for their economic and political factions. Renewable energy supply has increased in the last decade, however.

China is the largest consumer of primary energy in the world, having used some 170.7 exajoules in 2023. This is a lot more than what the United States consumed, which comes in second place. The majority of primary energy fuels worldwide are still derived from fossil fuels, such as oil and coal. China's energy mix China’s primary energy mix has shifted from a dominant use of coal to an increase in natural gas and renewable sources. Since 2013, the renewables share in total energy consumption has grown by around eight percentage points. Overall, global primary energy consumption has increased over the last decade, and it is expected to experience the largest growth in emerging economies like the BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India, and China. What is primary energy? Primary energy is the energy inherent in natural resources such as crude oil, coal, and wind before further transformation. For example, crude oil can be refined into secondary fuels, such as gasoline or diesel, while wind is harnessed for electricity - itself a secondary energy source. A country’s total primary energy supply is a measure of the country’s primary energy sources. Meanwhile, end use energy is the energy directly consumed by the user and includes primary fuels such as natural gas, as well as secondary sources, like electricity and gasoline.

Throughout the past decade, the United States has been notably decreasing its use of coal, and increasing the use of natural gas and renewable energy sources for electricity generation. In 2023, natural gas was by far the largest source of electricity in the North American country, with a generation share of 43 percent. Renewable energy's share amounted to 23 percent that year.

Electricity consumption in the United States totaled 4,000 terawatt-hours in 2023, one of the highest values in the period under consideration. Figures represent energy end use, which is the sum of retail sales and direct use of electricity by the producing entity. Electricity consumption in the U.S. is expected to continue increasing in the next decades. Which sectors consume the most electricity in the U.S.? Consumption has often been associated with economic growth. Nevertheless, technological improvements in efficiency and new appliance standards have led to a stabilizing of electricity consumption, despite the increased ubiquity of chargeable consumer electronics. Electricity consumption is highest in the residential sector, followed by the commercial sector. Equipment used for space heating and cooling account for some of the largest shares of residential electricity end use. Leading states in electricity use Industrial hub Texas is the leading electricity-consuming U.S. state. In 2022, the Southwestern state, which houses major refinery complexes and is also home to nearly 30 million people, consumed over 470 terawatt-hours. California and Florida trailed in second and third, each with an annual consumption of approximately 250 terawatt-hours.

Coal consumption within the electric power sector in the United States fell to 387.17 million short tons in 2023. In the past decade, there has been a marked decline in the use of coal for electricity generation. Coal consumption peaked between 2005 and 2008, when over one billion short tons were used every year. However, with the promotion of natural gas as a bridge-fuel toward a greener power sector, coal as the dirtiest of fossil fuels has fallen out of favor and natural gas has succeeded coal in becoming the main fuel type used for electricity generation in the U.S. Coal use by sector Coal is used primarily by the power sector. An Edison plant built for New York City in 1882 was the first coal-fired electricity plant in the U.S. By the 1950s, coal was considered the leading source of fuel for electricity generation. Declines in coal usage occurred around 2007, amidst the increased availability of renewables and natural gas. Apart from the use of thermal coal for power production, coking coal is an important raw material used for steelmaking, and the industrial sector still consumes around one quadrillion British thermal unit every year. Coal power use around the world The U.S.is the third largest consumer of coal in the world, following China and India. China’s consumption exceeds the total of many other countries combined, reaching 86.17 exajoules to U.S.' 10.57 exajoules. Fossil fuels are still a primary source of fuel around the world. U.S. fossil fuel consumption reached some 79.05 quadrillion British thermal units in 2022.

The industrial sector is the second-leading consumer of renewable energy across the United States, with a consumption of 2,249 trillion British thermal units in 2023. By comparison, the U.S. residential sector consumed 725 trillion British thermal units of renewable energy that year.

The electric power sector in the United States had the highest renewable energy consumption in 2022, at about 7.97 quadrillion British thermal units. In 2023, the industrial sector was expected to consume 2.38 quadrillion British thermal units of renewable energy.

Renewable energy production in the United States reached an all-time high of 8,423 trillion British thermal units in 2023. Consumption followed closely behind at 8,241 trillion British thermal units. U.S. investment in clean energy The United States' investment in renewables has greatly increased in the past two decades. Clean energy in the United States currently comes primarily from wind, solar, and hydropower, with significant contributions from biofuel and biomass - also known as biopower. Investments are motivated not only by environmental concerns, but also by unstable markets for traditional fossil fuels. Crisis in oil markets When oil prices peaked during the 2008 financial crisis, investors turned toward developing renewables as well as increasing domestic oil production as a more economically viable source. During the 2010s oil glut, oversupply of shale oil followed the expansion of extraction methods such as hydraulic fracturing, used to access the country’s large reserves of sandstone deep underground.

Fossil fuel consumption in the United States amounted to 77.18 quadrillion British thermal units in 2023, down from some 78.5 quadrillion British thermal units in the previous year. Renewables consumption also slightly increased, reaching 8.24 quadrillion British thermal units that year.

Alaska's staggering energy consumption of 987.4 million British thermal units per capita in 2022 highlights the vast disparities in energy use across the United States. This figure, more than triple the national average of 284.4 million British thermal units, underscores the unique energy demand of America's largest state. Louisiana and North Dakota followed closely behind, with consumption rates of 925.4 and 861 million British thermal units per capita, respectively. Factors influencing regional U.S. energy consumption The extreme per person energy consumption in Alaska can be attributed to its cold climate and energy-intensive industries. By comparison, New York, California, and Florida were among the states with the lowest per person energy consumption in the country because of the high energy efficiency, mild temperatures, and economies based on services and low-energy intensive industries. The overall energy consumption in the U.S. states was highest in the most populated areas –Texas, California, and Florida- and lower in sparsely populated ones, such as Alaska and Wyoming. Future energy trends in the U.S. While individual states show significant variations, the U.S. country consumed approximately 93.58 quadrillion British thermal units of primary energy in 2023, a slight decrease from the previous year. Oil remained the dominant energy source, followed by natural gas and renewable energies. The country's energy market has been evolving, with increased investments in renewable energy, reflecting a growing shift towards more sustainable energy sources.

In 2023, renewable energy sources accounted for about 21 percent of the total electricity generated in the United States. Of that share, wind power accounted for the largest proportion of U.S. electricity generation, at roughly 10 percent. Geothermal, on the other hand, accounted for just 0.4 percent of the electricity generated in the U.S. that year.