Natural gas-fired generating plants in the United States can be categorized by different ownership type, which can influence where individual plants are located, as well as how they operate and even the way fuel is purchased. Those different owners, through the investments they have made, have been instrumental in making natural gas the single-largest source used to generate electricity in the United States, with a 43% share of both capacity and energy output. EIA collects data for the different ownership types of natural gas-fired power plants.