Pennsylvania is third largest generator, top exporter of electricity among U.S. states

Pennsylvania generated more than 230 million MWh of electricity in 2020, which is more than every state except Texas and Florida, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Further, Pennsylvania is the biggest exporter of electricity among states, generating and delivering almost 78 million megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity to neighboring states in 2020, according to EIA’s State Electricity Profiles.

Overall, electricity retail sales in Pennsylvania totaled 140 million MWh in 2020. After direct use and transmission losses, the remaining electricity was sent to other states.

“Pennsylvania is America’s #1 exporter of electricity. We power the grid, which is why @GovernorTomWolf’s #RGGI carbon tax is such an appalling fiasco for consumers, U.S. energy security, and especially Pennsylvania’s industrial workers and skilled tradesmen @PowerPAJobs,” the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association tweeted.

In terms of generation, natural gas has seen huge gains over the past decade. It accounted for about 52 percent of all the electricity generated from utility- and small-scale facilities in Pennsylvania in 2020, up from 15 percent in 2010. In 2019, natural gas surpassed nuclear as the state’s largest generation source.

In 2020, nuclear energy accounted for 33 percent of the electricity generation in the state. After Illinois, Pennsylvania had the second-highest level of nuclear generation in 2020.

Meanwhile, coal accounted for nearly half of the state’s electricity generation in 2010. However, by 2020, coal accounted for just 10 percent of Pennsylvania’s electricity generation. Coal was Pennsylvania’s leading source of electricity generation as recently as 2015,

Renewable electricity – which includes wind, hydro, biomass, and solar – made up for 4 percent of Pennsylvania’s electricity generation in 2020, up from 3 percent in 2010. Wind power generation in the state more than doubled from 2010 to 2020, while solar power generation doubled from 2015 to 2020.