US energy production hits new record high

The US produced more energy last year than ever before, reaching a nationwide total of more than 103 quadrillion British thermal units, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration published Monday. This marks a 1% increase from the previous all-time high set in 2023.

The EIA report found that domestic production records were broken across a number of major primary energy sources, including biofuels, solar, wind, crude oil, and the largest source of energy in the US since 2011, natural gas.

While natural gas still accounted for ~38% of total energy production in the US last year, there was no significant increase in production from 2023. Though America remains the world’s top producer of crude oil, hitting a record 13.2 million barrels per day in 2024, this was only up 2% from the year before.

Coal shoulder

At the same time, the production of coal — which was the largest source of energy in the US from 1984 until 2010 — slumped to its lowest annual output in 60 years, down 10% from 2023. 

As the US has moved to gradually replace coal with other energy sources, China, the world’s largest energy producer, continues to drive up global production — and consumption — of the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel. In fact, the International Energy Agency estimates that China consumes 30% more coal than the rest of the world combined.

On a greener note, the EIA detailed that total renewable energy production also hit a new high last year, as biofuels (up 6%), wind (up 8%), and solar (up 25%) production all saw year-over-year increases and broke previous records.