Total US primary energy consumption by source (1775–2024)

• McKinsey: Reliable and affordable energy has been an enduring source of strategic advantage for the United States (Image). Access to plentiful energy has lowered input costs for businesses, improving productivity, enabling scale, and improving household well-being.

• At independence, Americans consumed twice as much energy per person as Britons, given abundant firewood. As discussed, ready access to coal ignited the American industrial revolution of the second chapter.

• In the third chapter, the United States became a net energy importer as its energy consumption began to outpace domestic production. The resulting exposure to the oil crises of the 1970s led to energy squeezes, contributing to a slump in productivity.

• The country regained energy independence in the fourth chapter through the shale revolution, which began in the mid-2000s. In 2019, energy imports dropped below exports for the first time in half a century. This ultimately helped shield the United States from major energy price fluctuations brought about by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

• Today, 64 percent of US crude oil production and 79 percent of dry natural gas production is from shale and tight formations.