What percent of electricity comes from fossil fuels

Fossil fuels account for the largest share of U.S.
The share of U.S. total energy production from fossil fuels peaked in 1966 at 93%. Total fossil fuel production has continued to rise, but production has also risen for non-fossil fuel sources such as nuclear power and renewables.

Share of electricity production from fossil fuels, 2023
Measured as a percentage of total electricity. Source. Ember (2024); Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. "Data Page: Share of electricity generated by fossil fuels", part of the following publication: Hannah Ritchie, Pablo Rosado and Max Roser (2023) - "Energy

Spain: Energy Country Profile
This interactive chart shows the share of energy that comes from fossil fuels. Spain: How much of the country''s energy comes from low-carbon sources? The line chart shows the percentage of electricity supplied by each source. A point to keep in mind when considering this data:

Iceland: Energy Country Profile
This interactive chart shows the share of energy that comes from fossil fuels. Iceland: How much of the country''s energy comes from low-carbon sources? The line chart shows the percentage of electricity supplied by each source. A point to keep in mind when considering this data:

Russia: Energy Country Profile
This interactive chart shows the share of energy that comes from fossil fuels. Russia: How much of the country''s energy comes from low-carbon sources? The line chart shows the percentage of electricity supplied by each source. A point to keep in mind when considering this data:

New Data Indicates California Remains Ahead of Clean Electricity
When sources of zero-carbon energy such as large hydroelectric generation and nuclear are included, 59 percent of the state''s retail electricity sales came from non-fossil fuel sources in 2020. In 2019, over 60 percent of the state''s electricity came from renewable and zero-carbon sources.

U.S. Renewable Energy Factsheet
82% of U.S. energy comes from fossil fuels, 8.7% from nuclear, and 8.8% from renewable sources. In 2023, renewables surpassed coal in energy generation. 1 Wind and solar are the fastest growing renewable sources, but contribute less than 3% of total energy used in the U.S. 1 Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) is measured as lifetime costs divided by energy production.

Fossil fuels account for the largest share of U.S. energy
The share of U.S. total energy production from fossil fuels peaked in 1966 at 93%. Total fossil fuel production has continued to rise, but production has also risen for non-fossil fuel sources such as nuclear power and renewables. As a result, fossil fuels have accounted for about 80% of U.S. energy production in the past decade.

China: Energy Country Profile
This interactive chart shows the share of energy that comes from fossil fuels. China: How much of the country''s energy comes from low-carbon sources? The line chart shows the percentage of electricity supplied by each source. A point to keep in mind when considering this data:

Denmark: Energy Country Profile
This interactive chart shows the share of energy that comes from fossil fuels. Denmark: How much of the country''s energy comes from low-carbon sources? The line chart shows the percentage of electricity supplied by each source. A point to

Sweden: Energy Country Profile
This interactive chart shows the share of energy that comes from fossil fuels. Sweden: How much of the country''s energy comes from low-carbon sources? The line chart shows the percentage of electricity supplied by each source. A point to keep in mind when considering this data:

Fossil fuels still dominate U.S. energy, but renewables growing
As far back as we have data, most of the energy used in the U.S. has come from coal, oil and natural gas. In 2018, those "fossil fuels" fed about 80% of the nation''s energy demand, down slightly from 84% a decade earlier. Although coal use has declined in recent years, natural gas use has soared, while oil''s share of the nation''s

Electricity explained Electricity generation, capacity, and sales in
In 2023, about 60% of U.S. utility-scale electricity generation was produced from fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and petroleum), about 19% was from nuclear energy, and about 21% was from renewable energy sources. The percentage shares of utility-scale net electricity generation by major energy sources in 2023 were: 1; Natural gas 43.1%

CO₂ emissions by fuel
Carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions from energy and material production can arise from various sources and fuel types: coal, oil, gas, cement production, and gas flaring.. As global and national energy systems have transitioned over centuries and decades, the contribution of different fuel sources to CO 2 emissions has changed both geographically and temporally.

Fossil Fuels
Coal. In 2015, 33.2% of U.S. electricity came from coal— roughly equal to natural gas (32.7%), but greater than nuclear power (20%) or renewable energy sources (13%). There is an abundant supply of coal in the United States and it''s a relatively inexpensive energy source, but it is declining in use.

Electricity generation from fossil fuels
Ember (2024); Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. "Electricity generation from fossil fuels – Ember and Energy Institute" [dataset]. Ember, "Yearly Electricity Data"; Energy Institute, "Statistical Review of World Energy" [original data].

Australian electricity generation
The figure shows Australian electricity generation fuel mix in shares from 1997-98 to 2022-23 and calendar year 2023. Fossil fuels contributed 65% of total electricity generation in 2023, including coal (46%), gas (17%) and oil (2%). Coal''s share of electricity generation continued its long-term decline while the share of gas-fired generation

Renewables became the second-most prevalent U.S. electricity
In 2020, renewable energy sources (including wind, hydroelectric, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy) generated a record 834 billion kilowatthours (kWh) of electricity, or about 21% of all the electricity generated in the United States.Only natural gas (1,617 billion kWh) produced more electricity than renewables in the United States in 2020. . Renewables

Australia: Energy Country Profile
This interactive chart shows the share of energy that comes from fossil fuels. Australia: How much of the country''s energy comes from low-carbon sources? Click to open interactive version. The line chart shows the percentage of electricity supplied by each source.

Philippines: Energy Country Profile
This interactive chart shows the share of energy that comes from fossil fuels. Philippines: How much of the country''s energy comes from low-carbon sources? Click to open interactive version. The line chart shows the percentage of electricity supplied by each source.

India: Energy Country Profile
This interactive chart shows the share of energy that comes from fossil fuels. India: How much of the country''s energy comes from low-carbon sources? The line chart shows the percentage of electricity supplied by each source. A point to keep in mind when considering this data:

Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions | US EPA
Indirect emissions from electricity are less than 1 percent of direct emissions. Electricity production – Electric power includes emissions from electricity production used by other end use sectors (e.g., industry). In 2022, 60% of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gas. 3

Greenhouse gas emissions
In discussions on climate change, we tend to focus on carbon dioxide (CO 2) — the most dominant greenhouse gas produced by the burning of fossil fuels, industrial production, and land use change.. However, CO 2 is not the only greenhouse gas that is driving global climate change. There are a number of others — methane, nitrous oxide, and trace gases such as the group of

Norway: Energy Country Profile
This interactive chart shows the share of energy that comes from fossil fuels. Norway: How much of the country''s energy comes from low-carbon sources? The line chart shows the percentage of electricity supplied by each source. A point to keep in mind when considering this data:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is U.S. electricity generation by energy source? In 2023, about 4,178 billion kilowatthours (kWh) (or about 4.18 trillion kWh) of electricity were generated at utility-scale electricity generation facilities in the United States. 1 About 60% of this electricity generation was from fossil fuels—coal, natural gas, petroleum, and other gases. About 19% was from nuclear energy,

France: Energy Country Profile
This interactive chart shows the share of energy that comes from fossil fuels. France: How much of the country''s energy comes from low-carbon sources? The line chart shows the percentage of electricity supplied by each source. A point to keep in mind when considering this data:

6 FAQs about [What percent of electricity comes from fossil fuels]
How much energy is produced by fossil fuels?
As a result, fossil fuels have accounted for about 80% of U.S. energy production in the past decade. Since 2008, U.S. production of crude oil, dry natural gas, and natural gas plant liquids (NGPL) has increased by 15 quadrillion British thermal units (quads), 14 quads, and 4 quads, respectively.
What percentage of domestic energy comes from fossil fuels?
In 2019, 80% of domestic energy production was from fossil fuels, and 80% of domestic energy consumption originated from fossil fuels.
What percentage of US energy consumption comes from fossil fuels?
Much of the imported crude oil is processed by U.S. refineries and is then exported as petroleum products. Petroleum products accounted for 42% of total U.S. energy exports in 2019. The share of U.S. total energy consumption that originated from fossil fuels has fallen from its peak of 94% in 1966 to 80% in 2019.
What percentage of electricity is generated from renewable sources?
In 1990, renewable resources provided about 12% of utility-scale electricity generation. Wind energy was the source of about 10% of total U.S. utility-scale electricity generation and accounted for 48% of the electricity generation from renewable sources in 2023. Wind turbines convert wind energy into electricity.
What are fossil fuels?
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy ReviewNote: Click to enlarge. Fossil fuels, or energy sources formed in the Earth’s crust from decayed organic material, including petroleum, natural gas, and coal, continue to account for the largest share of energy production and consumption in the United States.
What are fossil fuels & how do they affect energy production?
Fossil fuels —petroleum, natural gas, and coal—accounted for about 84% of total U.S. primary energy production in 2023. Fossil fuels have dominated the U.S. energy mix for more than 100 years, but the mix has changed over time. 2
Related Contents
- What percentage of global warming is caused by fossil fuels
- What is the difference between fossil fuels and renewable energy
- What are 3 other energy types than fossil fuels
- How much energy comes from fossil fuels
- What part of the photovoltaic cell converts light to electricity
- Renewable energy vs fossil fuels cost
- Is solar power better than fossil fuels
- Can alternative energy replace fossil fuels
- Fossil fuels non renewable
- Alternatives to fossil fuels