The U.S. Energy Information Administration published a landmark historical brief on June 30, 2026, tracing American energy consumption across 250 years, from the wood fires of the founding era to a modern mix of petroleum, natural gas, renewables, and nuclear power that totaled 96 quadrillion British thermal units in 2025.
Wood to coal to petroleum: three centuries of transition
When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, wood was the main source for heating, cooking, and lighting. That dominance held for more than a century.
Wood remained America’s biggest energy source until 1885, when it was surpassed by coal. In 1950, petroleum took the lead over coal, and has remained the main source of energy ever since.
Coal became widely used in the mid-1800s, and the expansion of the railroad network, the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, helped drive rapid growth in coal use across the second half of the 19th century.
In the 2000s, natural gas produced from shale formations became more widely available and cheaper because of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Between 2011 and 2020, more than 100 coal-fired power plants were replaced with or converted to natural gas.
Where things stand in 2025
In 2025, total energy used in the United States was 96 quadrillion British thermal units (quads), up 2% from 2024, but below 2007’s record 99 quads. Petroleum was the most-used energy source, followed closely by natural gas.
As GCN previously reported, fossil fuels supplied 82% of national demand.
Renewable energy, coal, and nuclear each made up about 9% of total energy use. In 2025, natural gas generated more electricity than any other individual energy source and was the most common home heating source in the United States.
In 1957, following the discoveries made during the Manhattan Project, the first full-scale commercial U.S. nuclear power plant came online in Pennsylvania. The U.S. nuclear fleet peaked at 112 operable units, with 94 operating in 2025.
Renewables climbing, but demand accelerating
In 2022, U.S. energy consumption from renewables surpassed nuclear for the first time since 1984. In 2023, renewables surpassed coal use for the first time since the 1880s. Wind and solar accounted for more energy used than hydropower in 2025.
The gains in cleaner energy, however, are being met by a surge in new electricity demand. Rising electricity demand from data centers, cryptocurrency mining, and electric vehicles is expected to drive continued growth in energy use through at least 2027.
The EIA notes that electricity demand is increasingly being driven by data centers, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency mining, and electric vehicles.
Demand from electric vehicles is also growing, with nearly 6 million EVs on U.S. roads in 2024, almost six times more than in 2018. EIA estimates indicate that U.S. light-duty EV electricity consumption was 24 billion kilowatthours in 2025, nearly 15 times more than in 2018.
The EIA’s data on record crude oil output in 2025 further underlines how deeply petroleum remains embedded in the national energy system even as electrification expands.
What the long view reveals
The 21st century brought additional change as the United States became more electrified, with increasing consumption of natural gas and electricity from renewable energy sources, and decreasing consumption of coal and petroleum. U.S. total energy use remained relatively flat between 2000 and 2020, with some temporary petroleum declines during the 2007, 2009 financial crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
With the more recent emergence of nuclear power and renewable energy such as wind and solar, the total share of energy from fossil fuels has decreased. As of 2025, however, fossil fuels still accounted for 82% of energy consumed in the United States.
The EIA’s brief draws on its Monthly Energy Review and historical consumption estimates stretching back to 1635. It frames those numbers not as a snapshot but as a continuation of a transition that has always unfolded across generations, not years.
