According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the country’s power generation grew by 3% in 2022, with generation from renewable sources (wind, solar, hydro, biomass, and geothermal) surpassing coal-fired generation for the first time, and nuclear generation for the second year in a row. Growth in wind and solar capacity led the increase in wind and solar generation. Indeed, solar capacity in the US power sector increased by 10 GW in 2022, while wind capacity grew by 8 GW in 2022.
Natural gas, with nearly 1,700 TWh, remained the largest source of power generation in the US, increasing by 7% from 37% of the total in 2021 to 39% in 2022. The share of coal-fired generation decreased from 23% in 2021 to 20% in 2022 as many coal-fired power plants shut down during the year, while the share of nuclear generation decreased from 20% in 2021 to 19% in 2022, following the Palisades nuclear power plant’s retirement in May 2022.
The combined wind and solar share of total generation increased from 12% in 2021 to 14% in 2022, while hydropower generation remained the same at 6%. Biomass and geothermal also remained stable at about 1%. Texas was the state which generated the most wind power (26% of the country’s total) while California ranked number one for solar generation (also 26%).
In addition, the EIA announced that US natural gas production grew by 4% in 2022. Three regions (Appalachia, Permian, and Haynesville) accounted for 60% of all US production in 2022, similar to 2021 figures.
According to the EIA, the US coal exports remained stable in 2022 (very slight decrease). Steam coal accounted for 45% of all US coal exports in 2022, while metallurgical coal accounted for 55%. Coal exports to China fell by 77%, while exports to Europe increased twofold following the European Union’s ban on coal imports from Russia.