(MENAFNEditorial) While coal has traditionally been the leading fuel for electricity generation in the United States, in recent years the world's second biggest electricity producer has slowly been shifting to cleaner alternatives. In 2013, coal accounted for 39.1% of total net electricity generation, ahead of other energy resources such as natural gas (27.4%), nuclear energy (19.4%), renewable energy (12.9%), and other fossil fuels (1.0%). Although coal remains the top source for electricity generation measuring 956.2 thousand GWh as of July 2014, its use has been decreasing continuously. Total net electricity generated by coal was significantly higher in 2003 at 2.0 million GWh or 50.8% of total production compared to its 2013 volume of 1.6 million GWh (39.1%).
The fall in demand for coal in electricity generation can be partly attributed to the rising adoption of natural gas from the exploitation of shale gas. Net electricity generated by natural gas was 1.1 million GWh (27.4% of total) in 2013, up from 0.6 million GWh (16.7% of the total) ten years ago. As such, natural gas consumption for electric power rose to 8,337 BTU tonnes in 2013 from 5,245 BTU tonnes in 2003, while energy consumption of coal declined, consuming 16,489 BTU tonnes in 2013, down from 20,185 BTU tonnes in 2003.
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