wattwatch

How the US grid changed over time

Net generation by fuel — the whole US back to 2001 (EIA), or any country and the world back to 2000 (Ember). The coal collapse, the gas takeover, the renewables climb.

loading…

Generation mix

Fuel's share of total net generation. The whole story in one chart.

Nuclear share

Nuclear's share of generation.

Coal burned

Coal actually consumed for power, million short tons. The steepest line on the page. (US only — physical fuel use isn't in the global series.)

Gas, coal & nuclear

Generation in terawatt-hours — natural gas, coal, and nuclear compared.

Wind + solar

Combined wind and solar share of generation.

Carbon intensity

Grams of CO₂ per kWh of electricity generated. Lower is cleaner.

wattwatch's own record

The Lower-48 hourly mix wattwatch has logged itself since it went live — our own high-resolution record, growing every 15 minutes.