In 2021, the yearly average amounts of coal, natural gas, and petroleum fuels used by US electric utilities and independent power providers to create a kilowatthour (kWh) of electricity were:1
Electric utilities and independent power producers in the United States generated the following yearly average number of kWh per amount of coal, natural gas, and petroleum fuels utilized for electricity generation in 2021:1
The figures above are based on preliminary data from the Electric Power Monthly for 2021, which was published in April 2022, as well as simple averages of national-level annual statistics for electric utilities and independent power providers. They are the annual average amounts for the majority of the electricity generated for sale in the United States, but they do not include power generated in the commercial and industrial sectors. Fuel use for useable thermal output in combined heat and power plants is not included in the fuel consumption data used for the above quantities.
Actual numbers for a particular generator or power plant may differ significantly from those listed above. The amount of fuel consumed to create electricity is determined by the generator’s efficiency (or heat rate) and the heat content of the fuel. The types of generators (primary movers), the type and heat content of fuels, power plant emission controls, and other factors all affect power plant efficiencies (heat rates).
The amount of fuel consumed to generate a kilowatthour (kWh) of electricity can be calculated using two formulas:
- Heat rate (in British thermal units per kWh) divided by Fuel heat content = Amount of fuel used per kWh (in Btu per physical unit)
- Fuel heat content (in Btu per physical unit) divided by Heat rate = Kilowatthour created per unit of fuel used (in Btu per kWh)
The following are some of the data sources available from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) for those calculations:
- The average quality of fossil fuel receipts for the electric power industry is shown in Table 7.3. ( xls )
Appendices providing fuel heat contents, electricity heat rates, and conversion factors are included in the Monthly Energy Review.
On a national and state level, as well as at individual power plants, the EIA releases monthly and annual data on the quantity of electricity generated and associated fuel consumption by electricity producers. This information can also be used to compute fuel use per kWh of electricity generated, as well as kWh generation per unit of fuel consumption.
- Data on total power generation in the United States (Table(s) 7.2) and electricity generation fuel consumption (Table(s) 7.3).
- Historical power data files at the state level, including annual and monthly electricity generation and fuel usage.
- Data on fuel consumption and electricity generation at individual power plants in the United States, broken down by fuel/energy source.
1 In combined heat and power plants, fuel is not used for usable thermal output.
Other FAQs about Electricity
- A kilowatthour of electricity is generated using how much coal, natural gas, or petroleum?
- How much does it cost to produce electricity using various power plants?
- How much of the energy consumed and generated in the United States comes from renewable sources?
- How much of the carbon dioxide produced in the United States is due to power generation?
- Is the EIA able to provide data on energy use and prices for cities, counties, or zip codes?
- What is the number and location of nuclear power plants in the United States?
- Does the EIA provide state-by-state estimates or projections for energy output, consumption, and prices?
- In the United States, how much does it cost to create various types of power plants?
- Is data on peak or hourly electricity generation, demand, and prices available from the EIA?
- In the United States, how much electricity is lost in transmission and distribution?
- Is the location of electric power plants, transmission lines, and substations published by the EIA?
- What’s the difference between electricity generation capacity and actual generation of power?
- Is the EIA aware of any unplanned disruptions or shutdowns of energy infrastructure in the United States?
How much energy is produced per day by a natural gas power plant?
The assumptions and methods used to derive the data used in the charts above are explained in full below.
Electrical energy production
The daily production of various electrical sources has been calculated in one of two ways:
- We converted the annual energy output of a plant or facility to a daily average output in watt-hours or megawatt-hours if specific reported details on the annual energy output of a plant or facility were provided.
- We computed this based on a plant’s maximum power rating and the average capacity factor for a plant of its type, based on capacity factor statistics published by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA)1 where particular specifics on electrical output were not available (described below).
Electric power plants’ output is frequently characterized in terms of their maximum capacity; this is a power (not energy) parameter measured in watts (W). To get the average electrical energy daily output, we need to make two conversions to this metric. First, we must convert energy into power. (energy = power x time) Energy is a measure of power output over time. To figure out how many watt-hours our plant produces, multiply its power rating by the number of hours it runs. For example, if we have a 1000MW plant, its maximum daily energy output is 24,000MWh (1000MW x 24 hours).
However, this assumes that a plant operates at full capacity all of the time, which most (if not all) do not. The second adjustment we must do is to multiply the output by the capacity factor. Over a given time period, the capacity factor is defined as the actual electrical energy output expressed as a percentage or ratio of the maximum achievable output. For example, if our plant only runs at 80% capacity (due to a mix of shut-down episodes and periods of operation below maximum capacity), our daily energy production would be only 19,200MWh (24,000MWh x 80 percent ).
Hydropower production is unusual in that it encompasses the widest variety of electrical energy outputs, ranging from the world’s largest production facilities to so-called microgrids “Simple water turbines are sometimes erected for a single household or a cluster of families in “pico hydro” schemes. xThese typically produce less than one MWh per day and have a power rating of less than 5kW. (only about 22 MWh per year).
This is where you’ll find a compilation of the world’s largest hydroelectric power plants. The world’s two largest electricity producers, Brazil’s Itaipu Dam and China’s Three Gorges Dam, are notable outliers in terms of output, producing nearly double that of the next largest hydro project. The Itaipu Dam produced an average of 282,000 MWh per day in 2014 (103 TWh per year/365 days), while the Three Gorges Dam produced an average of 270,000 MWh per day in 2014 (98.8 TWh/365). The other single hydro site in this graph is the Hoover Dam in the United States, which produced 11,000 MWh per day on average in 2014 (4 TWh/365). 2
Aside from the hydro outliers of the Itaipu and Three Gorges Dams, the majority of the world’s largest hydropower plants produce between 50 and 55 TWh per year. Large hydropower plants produce about 150,000 MWh per day on average (however seasonal variations will undoubtedly influence daily outputs throughout the year).
Because nuclear power stations are less affected by seasonal or environmental fluctuations, their output is often more constant over time than hydropower or other renewable resources. We used the declared maximum capacity of specific stations listed here, along with the average capacity factor of nuclear power, which is roughly 90%, to estimate the range of normal daily outputs from nuclear stations. 3
The Bruce nuclear power plant in Canada, for example, has a maximum capacity of 6,384 MW, making it the world’s largest running nuclear power plant. As a result, the predicted average daily output is computed as 6,384 MW x 90% x 24 hours, yielding roughly 138,000 MWh each day. The average daily output of the other nuclear power plants mentioned here was estimated using the same way.
Small nuclear power plants have a maximum capacity of 400 megawatts, but they can be as small as 200-250 megawatts. The Kaiga Atomic Power Station in India, for example, has reactors with a maximum capacity of 220 MW. As a result, the Kaiga Atomic facility generates 6100 MWh per day on average.
Our estimates of daily electrical output from coal-fired power plants, like nuclear, are based on reported maximum capacity data (available here) and a 64 percent average capacity factor.
4 The Tiachung Power Plant in Taiwan is the world’s largest coal plant, with a maximum capacity of 5500 MW and an average daily output of 85,000 MWh (5,500MW * 64 percent * 24 hours).
Small coal-fired plants, like nuclear power plants, can have a maximum capacity of hundreds of megawatts. In Senegal, for example, the Kahone Thermal Power Station has a capacity of only 102 MW. Daily coal output might be as low as 1600 MWh per day if we assume an average capacity factor of roughly 64%.
Geothermal energy has a lesser capacity and production than hydro, nuclear, and coal-fired power plants. The Geysers facility in the United States is the world’s largest geothermal producer; with a capacity of 1,517 MW and a claimed capacity factor of 63 percent, we estimate daily output to be around 23,000 MWh. 5
However, when compared to other geothermal reactors across the world, The Geysers site stands out as a significant outlier in terms of prospective output. The second-largest geothermal facility is about half the size of The Geysers in terms of installed capacity. We may estimate a typical large geothermal plant to produce around 14,000-15,000 MWh per day based on its installed capacity of 820 MW and Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s global average capacity factor for geothermal of 73 percent. Geothermal sites, like hydropower plants, can be quite tiny; the San Martino geothermal plant in Italy has a capacity of only 40 MW; assuming a capacity factor of 73 percent for geothermal, average daily output would be roughly 700 MWh.
The Gansu Wind Farm in China is a significant exception, as most onshore wind farms produce less than 10,000 MWh per day on average. Wind power in the Gansu region has an installed capacity of 7,965 MW and an average capacity factor of 12.4%. We estimate daily output to be around 24,000 MWh. 6
The next two largest wind farms, Mupandal Wind Farm in India and Alta Wind Energy Centre in the United States, are much smaller than Gansu Wind Farm, with maximum capacities of 1500 MW and 1320 MW, respectively. The Alta Wind Energy Centre produces an average of 7,342 MWh per day compared 5,400 MWh at Muppandal, with a capacity factor of 30% versus the average factor in India of 15%. 7
Wind farms can be relatively tiny in terms of size and capacity, ranging from tens of megawatts to hundreds of megawatts. Utgrunden Wind Farm in Sweden, for example, with a maximum capacity of only 11 MW, is expected to produce roughly 80 MWh per day on average.
Despite the fact that offshore wind farms have a larger capacity factor than onshore counterparts, their total installed capacity is still nowhere near that of the largest onshore farms. The London Array in the United Kingdom is the world’s largest offshore wind farm to date. With a 630 MW capacity and a capacity factor of 45.3 percent in 2015, average daily output is around 6,800 MWh.
Offshore wind farms, like onshore wind farms, can be tiny, with some having less than 10 MW of installed capacity. The Mt Stuart Wind Farm in New Zealand, for example, produces only 70 MWh on a daily basis.
David MacKay discusses this in his book “Solar paneling’s electrical energy generation per unit area is virtually directly proportionate to the amount of sunshine that falls over it, according to “Sustainable Energy – without the Hot Air” (free here).
8 As a result, ideal solar energy locations, particularly at low latitudes, can produce energy outputs that are 2-3 times higher than at very high latitudes. However, as this list of the world’s largest solar PV farms demonstrates, solar can provide a reasonable amount of electricity in almost any country, regardless of latitude.
China’s Tengger Desert Solar Park, with a capacity of 1,500 MW, is the world’s largest solar PV farm to date. Daily output would be around 7,200 MWh if we assume a capacity factor of 20% (which is high for solar but not implausible). Topaz Solar Farm in California has about one-third the installed capacity of Tengger Solar Farm in China, but with a capacity factor of 24.4 percent, it produces 3,466 MWh on an average daily basis.
Solar PV farms, like onshore and offshore wind, can be as modest as tens of megawatt hours per day. Jarqavieh, Iran’s largest PV park, has a capacity of only 10 MW and produces an average of 48 MWh per day (assuming a 20% capacity factor).
Electricity consumption
The figures for power usage (shown as horizontal lines on the chart above) are based on the per capita electricity figures presented in the chart below. We used World Bank estimates of annual per capita electrical power consumption in 2014 to calculate total daily electricity consumption of a given number of citizens across a range of countries by first calculating daily per capita use (by dividing annual figures by 365) and then multiplying total daily electricity consumption by 10 million, one million, and 100,000.
What is the average amount of energy produced by a natural gas plant?
Combustion and steam turbines work in groupings referred to as power blocks in combined-cycle electric generating systems. The average size of a natural gas-fired combined-cycle power block has risen dramatically since 2014. Between 2002 and 2014, the average combined-cycle power block installed was around 500 megawatts (MW). The capacity of power blocks rose after 2014, reaching an average of 820 MW in 2017. As the performance of combined-cycle units has improved, power blocks have grown in size, and current and expected natural gas pricing and supply provide the combined-cycle technology a competitive edge. Two combustion turbines support one steam turbine in the most common design.
What is the capacity of a natural gas power station in megawatts?
Natural gas combined cycle plants currently generate roughly 630,400,000 MWh (compared to 2,016,500,000 MWh for coal); nevertheless, in 2007, the average capacity factor was 42 percent, owing to volatile and high gas costs.
Other FAQs about Oil/Petroleum
- Is there information from the EIA on the rail movement (transport) of crude oil, petroleum products, gasoline ethanol, and biodiesel?
- What percentage of the crude oil produced in the United States is used in the country?
How many kWh is produced by a power plant?
- It would take 325 kg of coal to power one 100 watt light for a year. The annual energy consumption of a light bulb is 876 kWh.
- Only 40% of the thermal energy in coal is converted to electricity in a coal-fired power plant.
- A typical 500 megawatt coal power station generates 3.5 billion kWh per year, enough to run 4 million light bulbs for an entire year.
- It would take about 4,750 pounds of coal to power most of a household’s electrical equipment for a year.
How much gas is required to generate 1 MW?
Second, a natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant with great efficiency may use around 7000 Btus of gas to generate one kilowatt-hour of electricity. That’s around 7 cubic feet of natural gas. As a result, one megawatt-hour would require around 7000 cubic feet of gas.
How much electricity is generated by gas?
In 2021, natural gas was the primary source of power generation in the United States, accounting for nearly 38% of total generation. Natural gas is utilized to create energy in steam turbines and gas turbines.
In 2021, coal was the second-largest energy source for electricity generation in the United States, accounting for around 22% of total generation. Steam turbines are used in nearly all coal-fired power plants. A few coal-fired power plants convert coal to gas, which is then used to generate electricity using a gas turbine.
In 2021, petroleum accounted for less than 1% of total electrical generation in the United States. Steam turbines consume residual fuel oil and petroleum coke. Diesel-engine generators use distillateor dieselfuel oil. Gas turbines can also burn residual fuel oil and distillates.
What is the average amount of natural gas used by a turbine?
Each start of a 13,750-hp (10.26-kw) gas turbine uses about 3000 lb (1360 kg) of pipeline gas in the expander, which is about 62 million Btu (65.41 GJ). This is $124 per start at a gas value of $2.00 per million Btu ($1.89/GJ) LHV.