Data for the United States for 2020 (except where noted).
Note: MW = megawatts, MWh = megawatthours, KW = kilowatts, and kWh = kilowatthours
| Electricity generation from utility-scale power plants (net generation) 1 | |
|---|---|
| Total net generation | 4,007,019 thousand MWh or about 4.01 trillion kWh |
| Share of total net generation by energy source | |
| Natural gas | 40.5% |
| Coal | 19.3% |
| Nuclear | 19.7% |
| Nonhydroelectric renewables | 12.4% |
| Hydroelectric (conventional) | 7.1% |
| Petroleum and other sources | 1.0% |
| Number of electricity generators | 23,417 |
| Largest power plant by net generation | Palo Verde (nuclear)—31,552,433 MWh or about 31.6 billion kWh |
| Electricity generation capacity of utility-scale power plants (net summer capacity) 1 | |
|---|---|
| Total net capacity |
1,115,681 MW or about 1.1 billion KW |
| Share of capacity by energy source | |
| Natural gas | 43.5% |
| Coal | 19.3% |
| Nonhydroelectric renewables | 16.3% |
| Hydroelectric (total) | 9.2% |
| Conventional hydro | 7.2% |
| Pumped storage hydro | 2.1% |
| Nuclear | 8.6% |
| Petroleum | 2.5% |
| Other | 0.5% |
| Total may not equal 100% because of independent rounding. | |
| Largest power plant by capacity | Grand Coulee Dam (hydroelectric)—7,079 MW |
| Electricity consumption (end use) and price | |
|---|---|
| Total end use | 3,856,364 million kWh or about 3.86 trillion kWh |
| Share of end use by type | |
| Electricity retail sales (total) | 96.4% |
| Direct use of electricity | 3.6% |
| Electricity retail sales and shares by sector | 3,717,674 million kWh or about 3.7 trillion kWh |
| Residential sector | 39.4% |
| Commercial sector | 34.6% |
| Industrial sector | 25.8% |
| Transportation sector | 0.2% |
| Largest electric utility by retail sales (within state) | Florida Power & Light Company—113,663,998 MWh or about 114 billion kWh |
| Retail prices by sector (average annual) | |
| Residential | 13.15 cents per kWh |
| Commercial | 10.59 cents per kWh |
| Industrial | 6.67 cents per kWh |
| Transportation | 9.90 cents per kWh |
| Average (all sectors) | 10.59 cents per kWh |
| State retail price rankings (average annual price for all sectors) | Highest—Hawaii at 27.55 cents per kWh Lowest—Louisiana at 7.51 cents per kWh |
| Average residential monthly consumption | 893 kWh |
| Average residential monthly bill | $117.46 |
| Largest electric utility by retail sales revenues (within state) | Florida Power and Light—$10.65 billion |
| Emissions | |
|---|---|
| Emissions from electric power plants | |
| Carbon dioxide (CO2) | 1,552,960 thousand metric tons (about 1.55 billion metric tons or about 1.71 billion short tons) |
| Sulfur dioxide (SO2) | 1,023 thousand metric tons (about 1.02 million metric tons or about 1.13 million short tons) |
| Nitrogen oxides (NOx) | 1,211 thousand metric tons (about 1.21 million metric tons or about 1.33 million short tons |
1 Utility-scale power plants have at least one MW of electric generation capacity.
Last updated: November 3, 2021