US produced more energy than it consumed in 2019

The United States produced more energy than it consumed in 2019, according to recently released data showing that U.S total energy production exceeded consumption for the first time since 1957. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2019 the U.S. produced 101.0 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) of energy, while it consumed 100.2 quads of energy.

Continued growth in energy production (a 5.7% increase over 2018's record high) and a slight decrease in energy consumption (0.9%) partly explain the result. EIA data shows that U.S. domestic energy production has grown substantially since 2010, a trend EIA attributes largely to "increases in crude oil and natural gas production from hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling." The energy production balance also includes record high subcomponent levels of specific energy commodities, including crude oil and natural gas plant liquids (NGPL) (31.8 quads) and natural gas production (34.9 quads). It also occurs despite a continued decrease in U.S. coal production, which fell to its lowest level since 1974 (14.3 quads). Nuclear electric power production remains relatively unchanged (8 quads).

EIA data also shows that U.S. energy consumption has ranged between 96 quads and 102 quads since 2000. Petroleum continues to account for the largest share of U.S. energy consumption, as it has every year since 1950, despite a decrease of nearly 9% from its 2005 peak in 2005. U.S. coal consumption has decreased nearly 50% since 2008, "primarily because coal has been displaced by natural gas and renewables in the electricity sector" according to EIA. At the same time renewable energy consumption in the United States, including renewable-powered electricity generation, biofuels, and biomass, grew 88% during the same period, reaching nearly the same share of consumption as coal in 2019