Chart assignment
Environmental science chart assignment
Read each chart, then answer its questions. Every chart shows its source and date; open it for a table of the numbers and the data to download.
Printable worksheet each chart with its source, date and space to write answers
Chart 1 of 1 · Energy
Where does US electricity come from?
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.
In 2025 natural gas made 40.8% of US electricity, followed by nuclear (17.7%) and coal (16.6%). Wind made 10.5% and solar 6.7%. Solar counts only utility-scale plants, not rooftop panels, and the 2025 figures are preliminary.
How to read this chart
Each bar is one energy source's share of all the electricity made in the U.S. in a year, so the bars add up to about 100%. The bars start at zero, so a bar twice as long means twice the share. Solar counts only large power plants, not panels on rooftops.
Questions to discuss
- What are the three biggest sources of U.S. electricity?
- Which of these sources release carbon dioxide when they make electricity, and which don't?
- What are the trade-offs (cost, land, waste, steady supply) between nuclear power and wind and solar?
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review (Table 7.2a) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025
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