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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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How much of U.S. energy consumption and electricity generation comes from renewable energy sources?

On September 26, 2023, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) changed the approach for calculating the heat content of electricity net generation from hydroelectric power, geothermal, solar, and wind energy. To learn more, see Changes to the Monthly Energy Review.

The change in the approach did not affect the amounts, in units of kWh, that EIA publishes for electricity generation from renewable energy sources.

The table below presents the effect of the changes on total U.S. annual energy production and consumption and on the renewable energy sources that were affected by the change in the approach.

U.S. energy production and consumption in 2022 under two different calculation approaches
quadrillion British thermal units

Captured energyFossil fuel equivalency
Total energy production97.943102.929
Production of renewables8.30413.290
Percentage share of total energy production8.5%12.9%
Total energy consumption94.79399.979
Consumption of renewables8.08813.074
Percentage share of total energy consumption8.5%13.1%
Geothermal0.1220.214
Hydroelectric0.8942.317
Solar0.761
1.870
Wind1.4843.845
Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review , September 2023

Learn more:
What is U.S. electricity generation by energy source?
The diagrams at the following links are based on the fossil fuel equivalency approach for estimating energy production and consumption of non-combustible renewable energy sources for electricity generation, with data from the April 2023 edition of the Monthly Energy Review.
U.S. energy consumption by source and sector (diagram)
U.S. energy flow (flow chart)
U.S. renewable energy consumption by source and sector (diagram)

Last updated: September 28, 2023, with most recent data available; data for 2022 are preliminary.


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