U.S. Energy Information Administration logo

Frequently Asked Questions

How many power plants are there in the United States?

As of December 31, 2017, there were about 8,652 power plants in the United States that have operational generators with a combined nameplate electricity generation capacity of at least 1 megawatt (MW). A power plant may have one or more generators, and some generators may use more than one type of fuel.

Learn more:
Electric Power Annual, Table 4.1: Count of electric power industry power plants by sector; by predominant energy sources within plant (some power plants are double-counted by fuel type in Table 4.1), and Table 4.3: Existing capacity by energy source
Downloadable databases with detailed data on individual generators and power plants

Last updated: October 26, 2018


Other FAQs about Coal

On This Page:

Coal

Conversion & Equivalents

Diesel

Electricity

Environment

Gasoline

General Energy

Natural Gas

Nuclear

Oil/Petroleum

Prices

Renewables

Full list of upcoming reports

Sign up for email notifications

Get the What's New RSS feed

Didn't find the answer to your question? Ask an energy expert.

(required)