Electricity Generation By State In The United States For 2026
Natural gas makes 43.4% of US electricity and leads 28 of 51 states, DC included. Every state's 2024 mix, the 1990-2024 trend, and 2025 preliminary data.
Your state probably doesn’t make electricity the way you think it does. In 23 of the 50 states and DC, no single source generates even half the power, which is why this guide to electricity generation by state shows every fuel, not just the winner.[1]
Natural gas is the workhorse almost everywhere: it made 43.4% of US electricity in 2024 and is the largest source in 28 of the 50 states and DC.
Coal has fallen from the top fuel in 31 of the 50 states and DC in 1990 to just 9 today, and from 52.5% of national generation to 15.1%.
The greenest state depends on how you count: Vermont’s generation is 99.8% renewable, but Texas produces the most renewable power by volume, 166.6 terawatt-hours.
Wind and utility-scale solar together grew from 0.1% of US power in 1990 to 15.6% in 2024.
Much of what you’ll see elsewhere is one month of data: the widely quoted 75% hydro figure for Washington describes a single March, while its full-year share is 59.3%.
Here’s the national picture, every state’s full mix, and how to read a mix number without getting fooled.
How is electricity generated in the US?
How is electricity generated in the US? Mostly by burning natural gas, which produced 43.4% of the country’s electricity in 2024 and is the largest single source in 28 of the 50 states and DC.[1] Nuclear came second at 18.1%, coal third at 15.1%, then wind at 10.5%, hydro at 5.6%, and utility-scale solar at 5.1%.
Gas makes more than nuclear and coal combined. But the clean side of the ledger is no longer small: nuclear plus renewables supplied 39.7% of US generation in 2024.[1] Renewables alone, counting wind, utility-scale solar, hydro, geothermal, and biomass, made 22.7%.
US electricity generation by source, 2024.
Natural gas43.4% · 1,869.9 TWh
Nuclear18.1% · 781.9 TWh
Coal15.1% · 652.2 TWh
Wind10.5% · 451.9 TWh
Hydro5.6% · 242.9 TWh
Solar (utility-scale)5.1% · 219.8 TWh
Biomass1.1%
Petroleum0.4%
Geothermal0.4%
US Energy Information Administration, net generation, 2024 final. Shares of 4,308.6 TWh; rooftop solar not included.
How does your state generate electricity?
Natural gas leads in 28 of the 50 states and DC, and geography largely divides up the rest.[1] Coal still comes first in 9 states: Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Wind leads 4 (Iowa, Kansas, New Mexico, South Dakota), hydro leads 4 (Idaho, Oregon, Vermont, Washington), nuclear leads 5, and Hawaii, which ships in its fuel, runs 77.0% on petroleum.
The largest electricity source in each state, 2024. One color per state hides the balance: in 23 of the 51, this color is under half the mix.
Natural gas (28, incl. DC)
Coal (9)
Nuclear (5)
Wind (4)
Hydro (4)
Petroleum (1)
US Energy Information Administration, 2024 final annual data, utility-scale generation.
But a one-color-per-state map hides the real story. In 23 of the 51, the largest source is under half the mix. Minnesota is the most divided grid in the country, with gas on top at just 27.1%, and Colorado runs a near three-way tie, gas 30.5%, wind 29.9%, coal 28.0%, only 2.5 points from first to third.[1]
And DC is not oil-powered, whatever some charts say. Its 187 gigawatt-hours of generation lean on gas at 53.2% and biomass at 29.9%, while petroleum contributes 35 megawatt-hours, effectively zero.[1]
One month of data is not a state’s mix
Search for your state’s electricity mix and the first numbers you see may describe a single month. The answer box on this topic has been reciting Washington as 75% hydroelectric. That number is real, but it describes one March, not the year.[2]
The full year looks different: Washington’s hydro share was 59.3% across all of 2024.[1] A month captures one season. A year averages all of them.
The month is real. It just is not the year. The March numbers are the ones the answer box recites; the annual shares are the mix.
75.25%Washington hydroMarch 2026, one preliminary month
59.3%Washington hydrofull-year 2024, final
32.6%California utility-scale solarMarch 2026, one preliminary month
22.6%California utility-scale solarfull-year 2024, final
US Energy Information Administration: monthly preliminary file (March 2026) and 2024 final annual file.
California got the same treatment twice. A viral claim says solar became the state’s top source, and in the preliminary 2025 data utility-scale solar did out-generate gas for four months, April through July. But gas still won the year, 35.6% to 27.0%.[2]
The final 2024 numbers sit even further from the claim: gas 40.5%, utility-scale solar 22.6%, nowhere near the 54% solar figure the answer box serves.[1]
Two more traps hide in mix numbers. Generation is not consumption, since power crosses state lines the moment it is made. And utility-scale counts leave out rooftop panels entirely, so every solar share on this page is utility-scale, with its year printed beside it.
Electricity generation by state, in one table
This is the complete energy generation mix by state: each state’s total output, its largest source, the share from every major fuel, and its clean-power share, all sortable, all from the same final-2024 file.[1] Solar columns count utility-scale plants only. Rooftop panels are not in this data.
Two reading notes. Rows do not add up to 100 because smaller sources, biomass, geothermal, petroleum, and pumped storage, stay in each state’s denominator without getting their own column.
And Texas dwarfs everything, generating 566,503 gigawatt-hours, 13.1% of all US electricity.[1] Florida, Pennsylvania, California, and Illinois round out the top five producers.
Electricity generation mix by state, 2024. Shares are percent of in-state utility-scale generation; the solar column counts utility-scale plants only. Click a header to sort.
State
Total (GWh)
Largest source
Gas
Coal
Nuclear
Wind
Solar
Hydro
Clean
Alabama
142,921
gas
45.2
14.6
31.1
0.0
0.9
5.8
37.9
Alaska
6,691
gas
46.8
11.2
0.0
1.8
0.1
25.6
27.6
Arizona
116,027
gas
47.5
8.5
27.9
2.2
9.3
4.6
44.0
Arkansas
61,542
gas
40.2
25.4
24.0
0.0
3.8
5.1
32.9
California
214,191
gas
40.5
0.1
8.6
7.3
22.6
13.8
57.2
Colorado
58,798
gas
30.5
28.0
0.0
29.9
8.4
2.8
41.2
Connecticut
44,761
gas
58.2
0.0
37.7
0.0
1.1
0.8
39.6
Delaware
4,799
gas
87.6
3.0
0.0
0.1
3.5
0.0
3.5
District of Columbia
187
gas
53.2
0.0
0.0
0.0
16.9
0.0
16.9
Florida
266,119
gas
76.8
2.9
10.9
0.0
7.0
0.1
18.0
Georgia
139,805
gas
40.7
12.8
34.3
0.0
6.6
2.1
43.0
Hawaii
9,161
petroleum
0.0
0.0
0.0
7.2
7.7
1.1
18.9
Idaho
20,035
hydro
31.4
0.0
0.0
15.1
5.1
45.7
66.3
Illinois
185,013
nuclear
16.3
14.6
53.6
13.5
1.7
0.0
68.8
Indiana
97,013
coal
41.1
41.8
0.0
10.6
3.2
0.4
14.2
Iowa
70,464
wind
13.9
20.5
0.0
62.8
0.9
1.5
65.2
Kansas
57,696
wind
9.2
22.7
16.0
51.6
0.2
0.0
67.8
Kentucky
66,951
coal
25.8
67.0
0.0
0.0
0.4
6.1
6.6
Louisiana
99,623
gas
75.5
3.7
14.7
0.0
1.2
0.9
16.8
Maine
14,655
gas
43.7
0.2
0.0
16.7
6.4
19.5
42.6
Maryland
35,425
nuclear
39.3
7.0
41.6
1.6
2.9
5.2
51.3
Massachusetts
20,915
gas
77.5
0.0
0.0
0.8
10.2
4.2
15.2
Michigan
124,200
gas
44.9
20.7
21.2
7.9
1.5
1.0
31.6
Minnesota
58,595
gas
27.1
19.5
20.2
25.2
3.9
1.5
50.8
Mississippi
77,337
gas
77.6
4.3
13.8
0.4
2.2
0.0
16.4
Missouri
66,876
coal
13.6
58.1
15.7
10.2
0.3
1.5
27.7
Montana
26,873
coal
3.7
36.4
0.0
21.6
1.4
34.3
57.3
Nebraska
37,229
coal
3.7
43.9
16.4
31.9
0.5
3.2
52.0
Nevada
45,528
gas
54.9
5.1
0.0
0.7
27.4
3.5
40.1
New Hampshire
16,942
nuclear
26.1
1.3
57.1
2.6
0.0
8.3
68.1
New Jersey
60,175
gas
49.3
0.0
46.0
0.0
2.7
0.0
48.7
New Mexico
39,697
wind
29.3
21.2
0.0
38.1
10.8
0.4
49.4
New York
129,015
gas
48.3
0.0
21.0
4.7
2.4
21.7
49.7
North Carolina
134,965
gas
41.1
12.7
32.1
0.4
8.8
3.6
44.9
North Dakota
42,557
coal
5.7
54.5
0.0
34.7
0.0
4.8
39.5
Ohio
142,747
gas
59.6
21.1
12.6
2.0
2.8
0.3
17.7
Oklahoma
94,069
gas
50.8
6.5
0.0
40.4
0.3
1.7
42.4
Oregon
64,661
hydro
38.5
0.0
0.0
14.7
3.1
41.7
59.7
Pennsylvania
241,499
gas
59.6
5.4
31.2
1.3
0.5
1.1
34.2
Rhode Island
9,777
gas
89.9
0.0
0.0
1.8
6.1
0.0
8.0
South Carolina
100,485
nuclear
22.7
16.8
53.5
0.0
2.9
2.4
58.8
South Dakota
20,872
wind
10.8
7.5
0.0
57.8
1.6
22.0
81.5
Tennessee
76,167
nuclear
21.6
22.9
42.3
0.0
1.4
11.7
55.4
Texas
566,503
gas
51.8
11.6
6.8
21.9
7.2
0.1
36.1
Utah
35,134
coal
33.1
45.4
0.0
2.1
15.1
2.2
20.7
Vermont
2,259
hydro
0.0
0.0
0.0
15.7
9.6
56.8
82.2
Virginia
102,699
gas
59.4
1.9
28.2
0.0
6.8
1.2
36.3
Washington
102,398
hydro
17.7
2.8
9.7
8.7
0.4
59.3
78.1
West Virginia
50,595
coal
7.5
85.2
0.0
4.0
0.4
2.7
7.0
Wisconsin
65,276
gas
40.2
31.8
15.5
3.1
4.4
3.2
26.2
Wyoming
40,709
coal
13.3
59.9
0.0
22.1
1.0
2.5
25.6
US Energy Information Administration, net generation by state, 2024 final annual data. Clean = nuclear + wind + utility-scale solar + hydro + geothermal. Rows do not sum to 100: petroleum, geothermal, biomass, and net pumped storage stay in the denominator.
The 30-year flip from coal to gas
In 1990, coal made 52.5% of America’s electricity and was the largest source in 31 of the 50 states and DC.[1] Its footprint peaked at 32 states in 2000. Today it leads 9.
The handoff came in two crossings. Gas passed coal nationally in 2016, and wind passed hydro in 2019.[1] Wind and utility-scale solar, which together made 0.1% of US power in 1990, made 15.6% in 2024.
Share of US electricity generation by source, 1990 to 2024, with preliminary 2025 as the dashed final step. Biomass and geothermal, never above 2% of the mix, are left off for readability.
US Energy Information Administration, net generation 1990–2024 (final) plus 2025 (preliminary, all 12 months).
The volume collapse is starker than the shares. Coal output peaked at 2,016.5 terawatt-hours in 2007 and fell 67.7% to 652.2 by 2024.[1] Utility-scale solar ran the other direction, from 17.7 terawatt-hours in 2014 to 219.8 in 2024, a 12.4-fold jump.
Wind didn’t lead a single state until 2020, when it topped two. By 2024 it led 4.[1]
Which states use the most renewable energy?
Which states use the most renewable energy? By share, Vermont, where 99.8% of in-state generation is renewable. By volume, Texas, whose 166.6 terawatt-hours of renewable power lead the nation.[1]
Both answers are right. Vermont ranks #1 by share and #45 by volume because the whole state generated just 2,259 gigawatt-hours, less than any other state. And Vermont imports most of the power it actually uses, so its 99.8% describes what it makes, not what it consumes.
Texas flips the other way, #20 by share at 29.4% but #1 by volume. Florida drops 30 places when you move from volume rank to share rank.[1] So when two lists crown different green champions, check which column each one read.
The states whose green ranking depends most on the column you read: rank by renewable share (filled dot) versus rank by renewable volume (hollow dot), out of 51.
#1#51
Vermont#1 → #45
District of Columbia#12 → #51
Alaska#21 → #47
Maine#8 → #32
Hawaii#23 → #46
Idaho#4 → #23
Florida#41 → #11
Pennsylvania#50 → #29
Texas#20 → #1
Filled = rank by renewable share of in-state generation · hollow = rank by renewable terawatt-hours
US Energy Information Administration, 2024 final; renewable = wind, utility-scale solar, hydro, geothermal, biomass.
South Dakota is next at 81.6% renewable, and it is a wind story, 57.8% wind against 22.0% hydro, not a dam story.[1] One tie worth knowing: wind and utility-scale solar each rank as the largest renewable in 17 states, with hydro first in 14.
Top 10 states by renewable share vs renewable volume, 2024
Rank
By renewable share
By renewable volume (TWh)
1
Vermont, 99.8%
Texas, 166.6
2
South Dakota, 81.6%
California, 108.8
3
Washington, 69.5%
Washington, 71.2
4
Idaho, 68.3%
Iowa, 46.2
5
Iowa, 65.5%
Oklahoma, 40.2
6
Oregon, 61.4%
Oregon, 39.7
7
Montana, 57.4%
New York, 38.7
8
Maine, 53.8%
Kansas, 30.0
9
Kansas, 52.0%
Illinois, 28.3
10
California, 50.8%
Colorado, 24.3
Why Nevada is not a hydro state
Nevada, home of the most famous dam in America, got just 3.5% of its 2024 generation from hydro. The state actually runs on gas, 54.9%, and utility-scale solar, 27.4%.[1]
That is the rule, not the exception. Having a resource is not the same as using it.
Arizona has world-class sun and is a gas state, 47.5% against 9.3% utility-scale solar.[1] Wyoming sits on some of the best wind in the country and still gets 59.9% of its power from coal, with wind at 22.1%.[1] What a state generates follows the plants it already built, the fuel it can get cheaply, and the policies it wrote, not just the weather outside.
Montana shows the flip side. Its coal identity is real, 36.4%, but hydro and wind together already make 55.9% of its generation.[1]
The five states where nuclear leads
Nuclear is the largest source in five states: Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Tennessee.[1] The purest case? New Hampshire, where a single plant produces 57.1% of in-state generation.
Nuclear is also why clean and renewable are different lists. Illinois pairs a 53.6% nuclear share with a 68.8% clean share, the fourth highest in the country.[1]
Texas keeps getting described online as roughly 30% clean. Its actual clean share is 36.1%, its renewable share 29.4%, and the 30% figure fuses the two.[1]
Clean power by state, mapped
Rank every state by clean share and the map redraws itself. Vermont leads at 82.2%, with South Dakota at 81.5% and Washington at 78.1% close behind, while Delaware sits last at 3.5%, under Kentucky’s 6.6% and West Virginia’s 7.0%.[1]
Shaded by clean-power rank, darkest = cleanest (Vermont, 82.2%). Clean counts nuclear, wind, utility-scale solar, hydro, and geothermal, 2024 final data.Shaded by clean share of in-state generation, from 3.5% (Delaware) up to 82.2% (Vermont).
Source: US Energy Information Administration, net generation by state, 2024 final.
EIA’s preliminary 2025 count puts total US generation at 4,429.5 terawatt-hours, 2.8% above 2024 and a record if it survives final revision.[2] The 2024 total of 4,308.6 was already the highest final-year figure on record.
Coal ticked up. Its share rose from 15.1% to 16.6% in the preliminary year, its first increase since 2021, while gas slipped to 40.8% and utility-scale solar climbed to 6.7%.[2] The file says what happened, not why.
Share of US generation, 2024 final versus 2025 preliminary, in percentage points.
Natural gas43.4 → 40.8
Nuclear18.1 → 17.7
Coal15.1 → 16.6
Wind10.5 (unchanged)
Hydro5.6 (unchanged)
Solar (utility-scale)5.1 → 6.7
Filled = 2024 final · hollow = 2025 preliminary (subject to revision)
US Energy Information Administration; 2025 from the preliminary monthly file, all 12 months.
Two largest-source flips also show up, both provisional: Maryland moves from nuclear to gas, with gas at 42.5% and nuclear at 39.3%, and Minnesota moves from gas to wind, with wind at 25.2%.[2] Preliminary numbers get revised, so both could still change.
Methodology
Every number on this page comes from the Energy Information Administration’s net-generation files.[1][2] We filter to the total electric power industry, which avoids double-counting, and compute each share as a source’s generation divided by the state’s total. Clean means nuclear plus renewables; renewable means wind, utility-scale solar, hydro, geothermal, and biomass.
The vintage ladder, from firmest to freshest:
2024 final annual (EIA-906, EIA-920, EIA-923) — every state mix, share, and ranking on this page
2025 preliminary (Electric Power Monthly, all 12 months in) — the trend chart’s endpoint and the 2025 section; preliminary data gets revised
2026 preliminary (January through April only) — used solely to check the circulating March figures, never as a mix claim
1990–2024 trend — one consistent file, no splices
Utility-scale only: rooftop panels are not in these files, which is why every solar share on this page says utility-scale.
Two limits, stated plainly. Generation is not consumption: a state can make clean power and import the rest, as Vermont does. And state lines are a rough fit for the actual grid, since regional operators cross borders, so these shares describe where power is made, not one sealed system.
The bottom line
Gas runs the American grid. Coal’s old majority is gone. And in nearly half the states, no source holds a majority at all.
So the next time a map says your state runs on one fuel, check three labels: the year, whether it covers a month or a full year, and whether it counts what the state makes or what it uses. Power costs are one line in a state’s cost of living; see the cheapest states to live in and the most expensive states in America for the rest of that picture.
Frequently asked questions
Where does Colorado get its power from?
Colorado gets its power from an almost even three-way split: natural gas at 30.5%, wind at 29.9%, and coal at 28.0% of in-state generation in 2024. That 2.5-point spread between first and third is the tightest in the country, so no single fuel defines Colorado’s grid.
Where does Missouri get its electricity?
Missouri gets its electricity mostly from coal, which supplied 58.1% of in-state generation in 2024. Nuclear follows at 15.7%, natural gas at 13.6%, and wind at 10.2%. Missouri is one of just nine states where coal is still the largest source of electricity.
Where does Massachusetts get its electricity from?
Massachusetts gets its electricity overwhelmingly from natural gas, which made 77.5% of in-state generation in 2024, with utility-scale solar next at 10.2%. Those shares count only what the state generates; power also flows into Massachusetts across state lines, so the electricity people use is a broader blend.
Which state has the highest renewable usage?
Vermont has the highest renewable share of any state, at 99.8% of in-state generation in 2024, with South Dakota next at 81.6%. But usage is a different measure: generation counts what a state makes, and Vermont imports most of the power it actually uses. Ranked by renewable power produced, Texas leads at 166.6 terawatt-hours.
Which US state has proposed to commit to 100% renewable energy electricity?
Hawaii was the first state to commit to 100% renewable electricity, per The New York Times (Aug 2024). Our generation data cannot measure a policy target, but it shows how far Hawaii still has to go: petroleum made 77.0% of the state’s utility-scale generation in 2024.
Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.
He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.
If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.
