U.S. energy consumption by source 2017-2018
Consumption of primary energy in the U.S. in 2017 and 2018, by energy source (in quadrillion British thermal units)
The statistic represents U.S. energy consumption in 2017 and 2018, with a breakdown by energy source. In the United States consumed some 30.98 quadrillion British thermal units of energy derived from natural gas in 2018.
Energy consumption by source
Petroleum is the main source of energy in the United States. The liquid is predominantly utilized as a fuel in the transportation sector, which is also the second-largest consumer of energy in the U.S., with a proportion of over 28 percent of the country’s total energy consumption. This figure is topped only by the energy-guzzling industrial sector - a major consumer of fossil fuels such as petroleum and natural gas.
Despite the prevalence of fossil fuels in the U.S. energy mix, the use of renewable energy sources has grown from immensely in the last decades to approximately 95 million metric tons of oil equivalent in 2017. Most of the renewable energy produced in the United States is derived from biomass, hydro and wind sources. More often than not, renewable energy is converted into electricity. In 2017, renewable electricity accounted for approximately 17.7 percent of the nation’s total electricity generation. In the long run, it is projected that renewable power will replace petroleum as the main fuel in motor vehicles, once the internal combustion motor - that revolutionized the world in the early 19th century - has been marginalized by alternative propulsion technologies.
Consumption of primary energy in the U.S. in 2017 and 2018, by energy source (in quadrillion British thermal units)
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| 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Petroleum* | 36.17 | 36.95 |
| Natural gas** | 28.03 | 30.98 |
| Coal | 13.84 | 13.24 |
| Nuclear electric power | 8.42 | 8.44 |
| Biomass | 5.08 | 5.13 |
| Hydroelectric conventional | 2.77 | 2.69 |
| Wind | 2.34 | 2.53 |
| Solar | 0.78 | 0.95 |
| Geothermal | 0.21 | 0.22 |
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