Energy in the United States comes mostly from fossil fuels: in 2010, data showed that 25% of the nation's energy originates from petroleum, 22% from coal, and 22% from natural gas.
Nuclear power supplied 8.4% and renewable energy supplied 8%, mainly from hydroelectric dams and biomass; however, this also includes other renewable sources like wind, geothermal, and solar. Data from 2019 shows that 37% of the nation's energy originates from petroleum, 32% from natural gas, 11% from coal, 11% from renewable energy, and 8% from nuclear power.The United States was the second-largest energy consumer in 2010 after China. The country is ranked seventh in energy consumption per capita after Canada and several small nations. As of 2006, the country's energy consumption had increased more rapidly than domestic energy production over the last 50 years in the nation (when they were roughly equal). This difference was largely met through imports. Not included is the significant amount of energy used overseas in the production of retail and industrial goods consumed in the United States.
According to the Energy Information Administration's statistics, the per-capita energy consumption in the U.S. has been somewhat consistent from the 1970s to the present time. The average was about 334 million British thermal units [BTU] (352 GJ) per person from 1980 to 2010. One explanation suggested that the energy required to increase the nation's consumption of manufactured equipment, cars, and other goods has been shifted to other countries producing and transporting those goods to the U.S. with a corresponding shift of green house gases and pollution. In comparison, the world average increased from 63.7 to 75 million BTU (67.2 to 79.1 GJ) per person between 1980 and 2008.