Power StationsWORLDWIDETHE GLOBAL EDITION 01
Map of 9,833 power plants in the United States, coloured by fuel and sized by capacity
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Power plants in the United States

9,833 power-plant records · 1,204,638 MW reported capacity

  • Solar 33%
  • Gas 18%
  • Hydro 15%
Explore United States on the map

United States at a glance

Power-plant records
9,833
Reported capacity
1,204,638 MW
Renewable electricity (2024)
24.1%
Most records
Solar, Gas
Grid operator
CAISO, ERCOT +5
Capital
Washington D.C.

Reported capacity is the rated size of the listed installations, not electricity being produced now. Source dates and coverage differ, so newer facilities may be absent and historical records may remain.

How electricity works in the United States

Mixed, by regionRules differ between states or provinces

FERC regulates wholesale markets and interstate transmission; each state's public utility commission sets retail rates. About a dozen states let households choose a supplier; in the Southeast and West, integrated utilities still run most of the system.

  1. GenerationMarkets or utility plants
  2. TransmissionRegional operators
  3. DistributionLocal utilities
  4. CustomersRules vary by state

Who regulates

  • FERCEnergy regulator · Wholesale & interstate
  • NERCEnergy regulator · Reliability standards
  • NARUCEnergy regulator · State commissions

Who controls the grid

About 3,000 utilities: investor-owned, public power and cooperatives. Seven regional grid operators (ISOs/RTOs) such as PJM, MISO, ERCOT and CAISO run wholesale markets covering about two thirds of demand.

Markets & power exchanges

Regional grid

  • North American interconnectionsRegional grid

    Part of the North American grid, split into the Eastern, Western, Texas (ERCOT) and Québec interconnections, with reliability standards set by NERC.

What does “Mixed, by region” mean?

Different parts of the country organise electricity differently: some regions run competitive wholesale markets, while others are served by vertically integrated utilities under state or provincial regulation.

The United States has multiple regional systems, balancing authorities and utility territories. These seven ISO/RTO links do not cover every US utility or grid. ERCOT has a different jurisdictional framework from the other six.

References reviewed 2026-09-29. Logos are each organisation’s own site icon, shown to identify it. Selected organisations, not an exhaustive list of licence holders.

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ELECTRICITY IN 2024

How United States generates electricity

Electricity generated4,391 TWh
Renewable share24.1%
Low-carbon share41.9%
Carbon intensity383.8 gCO₂e/kWh

Electricity mix 2024

Annual generation by source · terawatt-hours (TWh)

Hydro237 TWh
Wind451.9 TWh
Solar303.8 TWh
Bioenergy46.4 TWh
Other renewables17.5 TWh
Nuclear781.9 TWh
Coal652.2 TWh
Gas1,869.9 TWh
Other fossil30.5 TWh

Missing categories are labelled “No data”. Rounding can cause small differences from the reported total.

Source: Ember (2026), processed by Our World in Data · CC BY 4.0 · Snapshot 24 April 2026. Method & download details.

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Geography and data notes

United States is in North America. Its coastal or island geography provides a different setting for electricity infrastructure from inland systems. This profile connects country reference information with the historical station inventory and reported electricity generation.

Capital
Washington D.C.
Languages
English
Region
North America

Geographic reference: Countries geographic database (ODbL). Boundaries and names are for orientation; language listings are introductory, not exhaustive. Banner map: Natural Earth boundaries (public domain) with this atlas’s station records.

The source inventory contains 9,833 records for United States. Select a fuel in the map to explore where its stations are located, then open a record to inspect reported capacity and provenance.

Inventory coverage

9,833 source records. 0 reported operational in their source snapshot; this is not live status.

15 lack an owner/operator; 23 lack a commissioning year.

Coverage, dates & exclusions
THE GENERATION INVENTORY

List of power plants in the United States

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Browse 9,833 source records, ordered by reported capacity. Ownership and operating status describe the source snapshot; they may have changed. Missing information is shown explicitly.

Published selection: 12 records. JavaScript loads the full searchable inventory.

MW measures rated capacity, not electricity generated. Records may describe units, installations, projects or whole complexes. Review inventory coverage and licenses. Download this country’s records.