Petroleum is this country’s most-consumed energy source, accounting for 37.5% of all energy usage in 2024. Petroleum, which has been the top power source since 1950, peaked in 1978 at 48.7% of all energy use.
Natural gas is the nation’s second-biggest source of power in the U.S., accounting for 36.3% of energy use in 2024, its highest share in recorded history. In 1950, it accounted for 17.8%.
Renewable energy sources comprised 9.1% of all power. In 1950, renewable energy accounted for 5.7% of all U.S. power use. Both wind and solar consumption has increased more than 20 times since 2005.
Nuclear power accounted for 8.7% of all U.S. energy use in 2024. It hasn’t exceeded more than 10% of the nation’s consumption since joining the grid in 1957.
Coal accounted for 8.4% of power consumption, down nearly 15 percentage points since its peak in 2005. Coal was a major source of energy before the rise of natural gas and petroleum. In 1950, it accounted for 36.8% of U.S. energy use.