Fossil Fuel Power Peaks in July, but Clean Energy Gains Ground

As of August 27, 2025, the U.S. power generation landscape has seen a mix of progress and setbacks. On the one hand, fossil fuel-fired electricity generation likely peaked for the year in July, reaching its highest monthly total since August 2016. This surge in fossil fuel use led to the largest power sector emissions toll since August 2021, seemingly reversing a years-long trend of declining emissions.

However, the news is not all bad. Even as fossil fuel generation scaled multi-year highs, the share of clean energy sources within the overall U.S. electricity mix has continued to grow, reaching a record 44% so far in 2025. This compares to just 33% a decade ago, underscoring the steady progress being made in the energy transition, despite the recent spike in fossil fuel use.

The mixed bag of generation and emissions milestones highlights the uneven nature of the U.S. power sector's transformation. While fossil fuels remain dominant, clean energy sources are steadily gaining ground, and are poised to lift their share of the generation mix to new highs by the end of 2025, even as sporadic flare-ups in gas and coal power output underscore the still-central role of traditional fuels.