US Energy Production: Which US States Export the Most Energy?

The United States has seen its energy production transformed over the last two decades. Both natural gas and renewable energy sources have grown substantially. This has led to the country to export more energy than it imports for the first time in many decades.

This change has not happened throughout the US, however. Some states that were energy powerhouses in the past, like Texas, are no longer as important. And others, like Wyoming, have grown to be among the biggest energy exporters. A big part of this is due to the rise of natural gas fracking. At the same time, new innovations in renewable energy sources like solar and wind power have reduced costs and made these alternatives viable at scale.

With the adoption of natural gas and renewables, there has been less need for traditional fossil fuels. The production and consumption of crude oil has leveled off. And coal has declined substantially.

This transition has also shifted the US political economy around energy. Nationally, political figures have called for energy independence. A big aspect of this is the hope of reducing reliance on other nations in the event of geopolitical conflicts. Because of the US’s increased production of domestic energy sources, the country has made rapid progress toward that goal in recent years.

In 2019, the United States was a net exporter of energy for the first time since 1952. With a sharp increase over the past twenty years, production has begun to catch up with consumption and exports with imports. The nation’s net imports of coal and coke, natural gas, and petroleum have all fallen below zero, leaving only crude oil as a major fuel import — and even imports in that category are declining.

Within the US, states have different levels of production and consumption affecting their import and export levels as well. While some states — especially those that produce coal in large numbers — have suffered in the transition between fuels, others have dramatically increased their energy production. As a result, these states are now producing far more energy on a per capita basis than peer states are.

This is particularly true for two of the states at the front of the natural gas boom: Wyoming and North Dakota. These states lead the nation in energy production on both a total and per capita basis, a function of both their high levels of production and their low populations.

Interestingly, Wyoming and North Dakota are among the nation’s leaders in per capita energy consumption levels as well. One of the reasons is that extracting and refining fuel is itself an energy-intensive process. This is why some of the other leading states for energy consumption per capita are also major fuel producers, like Alaska and Louisiana.

After Wyoming and North Dakota, the highest net energy exports per capita are from states like West Virginia, New Mexico, and Alaska. To find these locations, researchers at Commodity.com used data from the US Energy Information Administration’s Electric Power Annual Report and ranked states based on their net energy exports per capita — calculated as the difference between per capita production and consumption.

Here are the states that export the most energy.

The US states that export the most energy

Partially assembled pumping unit in west Texas oilfield. | Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

10. Texas

Net energy exports per capita (million Btu): 206.2
Total energy production per capita (million Btu): 704.3
Total energy consumption per capita (million Btu): 498.1
Net energy exports (trillion Btu): 5,978.2
Total energy production (trillion Btu): 20,421.0
Total energy consumption (trillion Btu): 14,442.8

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9. Colorado

Net energy exports per capita (million Btu): 370.0
Total energy production per capita (million Btu): 635.9
Total energy consumption per capita (million Btu): 265.9
Net energy exports (trillion Btu): 2,130.8
Total energy production (trillion Btu): 3,662.0
Total energy consumption (trillion Btu): 1,531.2

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

8. Pennsylvania

Net energy exports per capita (million Btu): 392.5
Total energy production per capita (million Btu): 702.0
Total energy consumption per capita (million Btu): 309.5
Net energy exports (trillion Btu): 5,024.8
Total energy production (trillion Btu): 8,987.0
Total energy consumption (trillion Btu): 3,962.2

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Rainbow Falls and Dam, on Missouri River in Great Falls, Montana | Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

7. Montana

Net energy exports per capita (million Btu): 522.5
Total energy production per capita (million Btu): 932.8
Total energy consumption per capita (million Btu): 410.3
Net energy exports (trillion Btu): 558.5
Total energy production (trillion Btu): 997.0
Total energy consumption (trillion Btu): 438.5

Lake Overholser Dam in Oklahoma City | Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

6. Oklahoma

Net energy exports per capita (million Btu): 800.4
Total energy production per capita (million Btu): 1,233.5
Total energy consumption per capita (million Btu): 433.1
Net energy exports (trillion Btu): 3,167.2
Total energy production (trillion Btu): 4,881.0
Total energy consumption (trillion Btu): 1,713.8

Industrial Pipe at the port of Seward delivering oil from Trans-Alaska Oil System | | Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

5. Alaska

Net energy exports per capita (million Btu): 1,099.3
Total energy production per capita (million Btu): 1,928.8
Total energy consumption per capita (million Btu): 829.5
Net energy exports (trillion Btu): 804.2
Total energy production (trillion Btu): 1,411.0
Total energy consumption (trillion Btu): 606.8

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Solar panels on field against sky | Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

4. New Mexico

Net energy exports per capita (million Btu): 1,301.0
Total energy production per capita (million Btu): 1,636.8
Total energy consumption per capita (million Btu): 335.8
Net energy exports (trillion Btu): 2,727.9
Total energy production (trillion Btu): 3,432.0
Total energy consumption (trillion Btu): 704.1

Bluestone Dam, Hinton West Virginia | Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

3. West Virginia

Net energy exports per capita (million Btu): 2,200.0
Total energy production per capita (million Btu): 2,661.6
Total energy consumption per capita (million Btu): 461.6
Net energy exports (trillion Btu): 3,942.7
Total energy production (trillion Btu): 4,770.0
Total energy consumption (trillion Btu): 827.3

Wind turbines producing clean renewable energy in North Dakota | Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

2. North Dakota

Net energy exports per capita (million Btu): 4,677.5
Total energy production per capita (million Btu): 5,549.4
Total energy consumption per capita (million Btu): 871.9
Net energy exports (trillion Btu): 3,564.6
Total energy production (trillion Btu): 4,229.0
Total energy consumption (trillion Btu): 664.4

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Horses grazing below wind turbines at a wind farm in Southern Wyoming | Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

1. Wyoming

Net energy exports per capita (million Btu): 12,368.3
Total energy production per capita (million Btu): 13,335.4
Total energy consumption per capita (million Btu): 967.1
Net energy exports (trillion Btu): 7,158.3
Total energy production (trillion Btu): 7,718.0
Total energy consumption (trillion Btu): 559.7

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Detailed Findings & Methodology

The data used in this analysis is from the US Energy Information Administration’s Electric Power Annual Report.

For the state level analysis, researchers utilized the most recent data available which was from the year 2018. For the national level, researchers utilized the most recent data available, which was from the year 2019.

To determine the states that export the most energy, researchers ranked states based on their net energy exports per capita—the difference between per capita production and consumption. In the event of a tie, the state with the greater total energy production per capita was ranked higher.