page_title: Fossil fuel phase-out
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: Fossil fuel phase-out / Legislation and initiatives to phase out coal / Americas / United States
caption_attribution_description: English: Total energy consumption in the US by source, comparing fossil fuels with nuclear and renewable energy.
context_page_description: Fossil fuel phase-out is the gradual reduction of the use of fossil fuels to zero use. Current efforts in fossil fuel phase-out involve replacing fossil fuels with alternative energy sources in sectors such as transport, heating and industry.
context_section_description: In 2017, fossil fuels provided 81 percent of the energy consumed in the United States, down from 86 percent in 2000.
  In 2007, 154 new coal-fired plants were on the drawing board in 42 states. By 2012, that had dropped to 15, mostly due to new rules limiting mercury emissions, and limiting carbon emissions to 1,000 pounds of CO₂ per megawatt-hour of electricity produced.
  In July 2013, US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz outlined Obama administration policy on fossil fuels:
  In the last four years, we’ve more than doubled renewable energy generation from wind and solar power.  However, coal and other fossil fuels still provide 80 percent of our energy, 70 percent of our electricity, and will be a major part of our energy future for decades.  That’s why any serious effort to protect our kids from the worst effects of climate change must also include developing, demonstrating and deploying the technologies to use our abundant fossil fuel resources as cleanly as possible.
  Then-US Energy Secretary Steven Chu and researchers for the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory have noted that greater electrical generation by non-dispatchable renewables, such as wind and solar, will also increase the need for flexible natural gas-powered generators, to supply electricity during those times when solar and wind power are unavailable. Gas-powered generators have the ability to ramp up and down quickly to meet changing loads.
  In the US, many of the fossil fuel phase-out initiatives have taken place at the state or local levels.
caption: Total energy consumption in the US by source: comparing fossil fuels with nuclear and renewable energy
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