Frequently Asked Questions
How many and what kind of power plants are there in the United States?
There are about 18,530 individual generators at about 6,600 operational power plants in the United States with a nameplate generation capacity of at least one MegaWatt. A power plant can have one or more generators, and some generators may use more than one type of fuel.
Learn More:
Electric Power Annual 2011, Table 4.1: Count of Electric Power Industry Power Plants, by Sector, by Predominant Energy Sources within Plant (some plants are double-counted by fuel type in Table 4.1), and Table 4.3: Existing Capacity by Energy Source.
Downloadable databases with detailed data on individual generators and power plants.
Last updated: February 12, 2013
Other FAQs about Coal
- Does EIA have county-level energy production data?
- Does EIA publish coking coal prices?
- From what country does the U.S. import the most coal?
- How do I convert between short tons and metric tons?
- How large are U.S. coal reserves?
- How many and what kind of power plants are there in the United States?
- How much coal, natural gas, or petroleum is used to generate a kilowatt-hour of electricity?
- Which states produce the most coal?
- To what country does the U.S. export the most coal?
- What are the different coal prices published by EIA?
- What is the average heat (Btu) content of U.S. coal?
- What types and amounts of energy are produced in each state?