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.
Consumption of primary fossil fuel energy in the United States from 1990 to 2023, by sector
(in trillion British thermal units)
Fossil fuels include coal, natural gas (excluding the estimated portion of supplemental gaseous fuels), and petroleum (not including biofuels that have been blended with petroleum).
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EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration). (April 25, 2024). Consumption of primary fossil fuel energy in the United States from 1990 to 2023, by sector (in trillion British thermal units) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 30, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/244429/us-fossil-fuel-energy-consumption-by-sector/
EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration). "Consumption of primary fossil fuel energy in the United States from 1990 to 2023, by sector (in trillion British thermal units)." Chart. April 25, 2024. Statista. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/244429/us-fossil-fuel-energy-consumption-by-sector/
EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration). (2024). Consumption of primary fossil fuel energy in the United States from 1990 to 2023, by sector (in trillion British thermal units). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 30, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/244429/us-fossil-fuel-energy-consumption-by-sector/
EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration). "Consumption of Primary Fossil Fuel Energy in The United States from 1990 to 2023, by Sector (in Trillion British Thermal Units)." Statista, Statista Inc., 25 Apr 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/244429/us-fossil-fuel-energy-consumption-by-sector/
EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration), Consumption of primary fossil fuel energy in the United States from 1990 to 2023, by sector (in trillion British thermal units) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/244429/us-fossil-fuel-energy-consumption-by-sector/ (last visited December 30, 2024)
Consumption of primary fossil fuel energy in the United States from 1990 to 2023, by sector (in trillion British thermal units) [Graph], EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration), April 25, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/244429/us-fossil-fuel-energy-consumption-by-sector/