The U.S. generated more electricity from renewable sources than from coal last year, for the first time in history. The nation's portfolio of electric generation resources continues to shift away from coal and oil and towards renewable resources and natural gas.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) tracks statistics on a variety of energy sources and their related infrastructure. According to EIA, the domestic electric power sector generated 4,090 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity in 2022. The greatest share of this power (39%) came from natural gas in 2022, whose contribution has generally continued to increase over time.
Renewable energy sources contributed the second-largest share of U.S. electricity in 2022, surpassing nuclear output (for the second time) as well as coal output (for the first time). Within the renewables sector, the wind sector grew from 133 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity in 2021 to 141 GW in 2022, and the solar sector grew from 61 GW to 71 GW. Contributions from hydro, biomass, and geothermal remained steady.
EIA notes that the closure of the Palisades nuclear power plant in 2022 reduced national nuclear output, and cites closure of multiple coal plants as well as decreased utilization of existing coal plants.
EIA projects continued growth in the shares of the U.S. generation mix provided by wind and solar; steady levels of natural gas generation; and continued decreases in coal use for electricity.
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