Electricity generation from selected fuels
billions of killowatthours
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Outlook 2020 (AEO2020) Reference case
2010
2020
2030
2040
2050
1,000
0
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
The share of electricity generation from renewables doubles
2,000
19%
37%
19%
24%
Renewables
Natural gas
Nuclear
Coal
38%
36%
12%
13%
U.S. renewable electricity generation is the fastest-growing electricity resource throughout the projection period.
U.S. coal-fired and nuclear electricity generation declines
Renewable electricity generation, including end use
Electricity generation from nuclear and coal
Most of the growth in renewable electricity generation is from solar and wind.
Continued declines in the capital costs for solar and wind are supported by federal tax credits and higher state-level renewables targets.
Most of the decline occurs by the mid-2020s
The share of nuclear generation falls from 19% to 12%
The share of coal-fired electricity generation falls from 24% to 13%
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
2010
2020
2030
2040
2050
1,000
2,000
0
2010
2020
2030
2040
2050
Nuclear
Coal
19%
24%
12%
13%
Solar
Wind
Geothermal
Hydroelectric
Other
15%
38%
2%
37%
7%
46%
33%
3%
14%
5%
billions of killowatthours