Primary energy consumption in the U.S. 1995-2022

The United States consumed approximately 100.4 quadrillion British thermal units of primary energy in 2022. This was an increase in comparison to the previous year, and roughly one quadrillion British thermal units lower than the amount consumed in 2018, the peak year. Primary energy refers to energy harvested directly from natural resources and includes both fossil fuels and renewable sources.

U.S. has second highest primary energy consumption in the world

The U.S. has had a consistently strong demand for energy over the past two decades, ranking second among largest primary energy consuming countries in the world, following China. As energy consumption increases, so have carbon emissions, spurring many people in the U.S. to support speeding up the transition to clean energy. One proposed solution would be to separate the growth of the economy from energy production so that climate change goals could be addressed more directly.

Energy market shifts

Fluctuations since the global financial crisis and into the 2010s 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. In 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic led to a reduced demand for energy, variable renewable energy sources were increasingly used in power production and renewable investments surged to 85 billion U.S. dollars.