Renewable energy production and consumption in the U.S. 1975-2023

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.