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)
Characteristic
Residential sector
Commercial sector
Industrial sector
Transportation sector
Electric power sector
2023
5,608
4,377
20,312
26,148
20,737
2022
6,132
4,595
20,180
26,006
21,589
2021
5,856
4,332
20,467
25,519
21,285
2020
5,760
4,127
19,811
23,039
20,413
2019
6,253
4,521
20,511
27,106
22,028
2018
6,197
4,502
20,375
26,976
23,235
2017
5,435
4,113
19,458
26,506
22,395
2016
5,384
4,079
19,046
26,288
23,542
2015
5,784
4,211
18,923
25,828
24,341
2014
6,279
4,190
18,971
25,487
25,085
2013
5,986
3,979
18,930
25,249
25,082
2012
5,128
3,563
18,405
24,890
25,322
2011
5,838
3,910
18,092
25,360
26,042
Created with Highcharts 7.2.2Consumption in trillion BtuResidential sectorCommercial sectorIndustrial sectorTransportation sectorElectric power sector1990199520002005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000
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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 February 20, 2025, 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 February 20, 2025. 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: February 20, 2025. 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 February 20, 2025)
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/
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