Skip to content

America's Energy Shift: From Coal To What? (1950–2024)

America's Energy Shift: From Coal To What? (1950–2024)
Published:

by Tyler Durden

U.S. Energy Generation by Source, 1950–2024

As seen in the video above, natural gas has experienced the most significant growth—rising from just 6.2 quadrillion BTUs in 1950 to 39.2 in 2024—making it the leading energy source in recent years, surpassing both coal and oil.

U.S. Energy Generation by Source, 1950–2024

As seen in the video above, natural gas has experienced the most significant growth—rising from just 6.2 quadrillion BTUs in 1950 to 39.2 in 2024—making it the leading energy source in recent years, surpassing both coal and oil.

Coal use peaked between 2000 and 2005 but has since declined sharply, falling from 23.2 quadrillion BTUs in 2005 to just 10.6 in 2024. Meanwhile, crude oil usage resurged in the early 2010s after years of contraction, peaking in 2024 at 27.5 quadrillion BTUs.

The Daily News from the Art of Liberty Foundation is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Renewables such as wind and solar, though still relatively small in absolute terms, have shown consistent growth since 2005. Wind reached 1.5 quadrillion BTUs by 2024, while solar grew from virtually zero to 1.1 quadrillion BTU.

Nuclear energy has remained relatively stable since the 1990s, plateauing at around 8 quadrillion BTUs annually. This follows a period of rapid growth from the 1970s to the 1990s but has since been constrained by high costs and regulatory hurdles.

If you enjoyed this topic, check out this graphic that shows how the world’s top economies generated electricity in 2024. Fossil fuels supplied nearly 60% of the global power generation last year, with coal alone contributing 35% of the total.

Continue reading...



New book by Etienne de la Boetie2 exposes that the government and Hollywood have been running a multi-generational, trillion-dollar psychological operation on the population to indoctrinate them into accepting a ruling class, confiscatory taxation, and inflationary fractional reserve currency issued by private banks.

The book details 25 unethically manipulative techniques the “government” and monopoly media have been secretly using on the population, ranging from a hidden curriculum in their mandatory schools and scouting to the secret placement of propaganda in over 1,000+ movies and 1,000+ television shows. These techniques include subliminal messages and product placement of the American flag “anchored” to moments of high-positive emotion during the “programming”.

See the Press Release with more details HERE.

Buy the book at SeeTheCage.com

Substack readers can get the book for FREE by “Going Paid” to ANY of the Art of Liberty Foundation’s four Substacks AND get access to all four of those Substacks! Simply “Go Paid” and we will reply with details.

The Daily News from the Art of Liberty Foundation is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

More in Economy, Markets & Collapse

See all

More from Etienne de la Boetie2

See all