The electricity sector is responsible for about one-third of all
U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (see Figure 1) and 42 percent of
total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Figure 1: U.S. Greenhouse
Gas Emissions by Sector (2010) Source: U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas
Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2010, Table ES-7, 2012. http://www.epa
.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/usinventoryreport.html . A
snapshot of the fuels used in the United States for electricity
shows that coal-fueled generation provides a little more than 42
percent of all electricity, down from nearly 50 percent in 2006.
Filling this gap, natural gas now provides nearly a quarter of
all electricity, and renewables, including wind and large
hydroelectric power, provide about 13 percent. Nuclear power
continues to provide around one-fifth of net generation (see
Figure 2). Figure 2: U.S. Net Electricity Generation by Energy
Source (2011) Source: Energy Information Administration (EIA),
Monthly Energy Review, May 201