What each state burns
The United States generated 4,430 TWh of electricity in 2025. Natural gas was the largest source at 40.8%, and renewables supplied 23.8%. Vermont has the highest renewable share at 97.5%.
The national mix
- Natural gas 40.8% 1,807 TWh
- Nuclear 17.7% 785 TWh
- Coal 16.6% 737 TWh
- Wind 10.5% 464 TWh
- Solar 6.7% 296 TWh
- Hydroelectric 5.6% 247 TWh
- Wood and biomass 0.7% 32 TWh
- Other 0.6% 28 TWh
No single national grid produces this mix. It is the sum of very different regional habits. Natural gas leads in 28 states, Coal leads in 9 states, Wind leads in 5 states, Hydroelectric leads in 4 states, Nuclear leads in 4 states and Petroleum leads in 1 state.
In 11 states a single fuel supplies more than 60% of generation. Those are the places where the price of one commodity effectively sets the price of electricity, which is why Hawaii tracks oil, why the Gulf tracks natural gas, and why the Pacific Northwest tracks snowpack.
Every state ranked by renewable share
| # | State | Renewable | Carbon-free | Largest source | Output | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vermont | 97.5% | 80.9% | Hydroelectric 53.4% | 2 TWh | 24.89¢ |
| 2 | South Dakota | 81.2% | 81.1% | Wind 57.2% | 22 TWh | 15.73¢ |
| 3 | Washington | 73.1% | 79.7% | Hydroelectric 63.2% | 103 TWh | 14.95¢ |
| 4 | Idaho | 71.9% | 69.9% | Hydroelectric 46.8% | 21 TWh | 12.35¢ |
| 5 | Oregon | 65.5% | 64.2% | Hydroelectric 45.1% | 65 TWh | 16.27¢ |
| 6 | Iowa | 62.2% | 62.2% | Wind 58.9% | 74 TWh | 14.14¢ |
| 7 | Maine | 58.9% | 47.6% | Natural gas 37.5% | 15 TWh | 28.63¢ |
| 8 | Montana | 57.6% | 57.5% | Coal 35.2% | 29 TWh | 14.67¢ |
| 9 | California | 54.7% | 62.2% | Natural gas 35.6% | 206 TWh | 33.25¢ |
| 10 | New Mexico | 52.5% | 52.5% | Wind 36.3% | 39 TWh | 14.12¢ |
| 11 | Kansas | 47.8% | 62.5% | Wind 47% | 63 TWh | 15.13¢ |
| 12 | Oklahoma | 44.8% | 44.6% | Natural gas 44.7% | 91 TWh | 13.38¢ |
| 13 | Nevada | 43.8% | 43.8% | Natural gas 50.8% | 45 TWh | 13.60¢ |
| 14 | Colorado | 43.2% | 43.2% | Natural gas 31.9% | 57 TWh | 16.16¢ |
| 15 | North Dakota | 41.3% | 41.3% | Coal 53.1% | 43 TWh | 13.61¢ |
| 16 | Minnesota | 33.4% | 53.6% | Wind 25.2% | 61 TWh | 16.95¢ |
| 17 | Nebraska | 32.9% | 50.1% | Coal 45.6% | 40 TWh | 13.59¢ |
| 18 | Texas | 32.2% | 39.1% | Natural gas 48.8% | 591 TWh | 16.44¢ |
| 19 | Alaska | 30.9% | 30.9% | Natural gas 40.4% | 6 TWh | 28.23¢ |
| 20 | Wyoming | 30.5% | 30.5% | Coal 58.5% | 46 TWh | 14.80¢ |
| 21 | New York | 28.9% | 50.4% | Natural gas 47.2% | 132 TWh | 29.93¢ |
| 22 | District of Columbia | 26.8% | 26.8% | Natural gas 46.6% | 190 GWh | 25.40¢ |
| 23 | Arizona | 20.5% | 47.1% | Natural gas 45.1% | 117 TWh | 15.23¢ |
| 24 | Utah | 20.5% | 20.5% | Coal 48.1% | 37 TWh | 12.96¢ |
| 25 | Hawaii | 20% | 20% | Petroleum 74.5% | 9 TWh | 52.00¢ |
| 26 | Illinois | 16.3% | 66.8% | Nuclear 50.5% | 193 TWh | 23.85¢ |
| 27 | Indiana | 15.8% | 15.8% | Coal 44.9% | 110 TWh | 18.15¢ |
| 28 | Massachusetts | 15.8% | 15.5% | Natural gas 77.3% | 23 TWh | 28.82¢ |
| 29 | North Carolina | 14.4% | 45.3% | Natural gas 40% | 135 TWh | 15.09¢ |
| 30 | Tennessee | 13.5% | 52.2% | Nuclear 39.3% | 75 TWh | 14.47¢ |
| 31 | Wisconsin | 13.5% | 27.5% | Natural gas 35.6% | 67 TWh | 19.74¢ |
| 32 | Arkansas | 13.2% | 34.8% | Natural gas 33.1% | 67 TWh | 14.36¢ |
| 33 | New Hampshire | 12.9% | 65.9% | Nuclear 56.4% | 19 TWh | 27.33¢ |
| 34 | Georgia | 12.7% | 44.7% | Natural gas 38.8% | 147 TWh | 15.84¢ |
| 35 | Missouri | 12.7% | 22.5% | Coal 63.7% | 72 TWh | 13.68¢ |
| 36 | Virginia | 12.4% | 36.4% | Natural gas 57.3% | 106 TWh | 17.61¢ |
| 37 | Michigan | 12.3% | 32.7% | Natural gas 41.5% | 128 TWh | 22.01¢ |
| 38 | Florida | 9.9% | 20.8% | Natural gas 72.9% | 268 TWh | 15.17¢ |
| 39 | Rhode Island | 9.9% | 9.9% | Natural gas 87.5% | 10 TWh | 29.46¢ |
| 40 | Maryland | 9.5% | 48.8% | Natural gas 42.5% | 38 TWh | 21.77¢ |
| 41 | Alabama | 9% | 36.8% | Natural gas 45.6% | 142 TWh | 16.77¢ |
| 42 | Kentucky | 7.8% | 7.4% | Coal 66% | 74 TWh | 14.98¢ |
| 43 | Ohio | 7.8% | 19.3% | Natural gas 54.7% | 147 TWh | 19.52¢ |
| 44 | South Carolina | 7% | 59.8% | Nuclear 54.2% | 105 TWh | 16.18¢ |
| 45 | West Virginia | 6.6% | 6.6% | Coal 86.9% | 54 TWh | 16.80¢ |
| 46 | Mississippi | 6% | 19% | Natural gas 73.9% | 78 TWh | 16.16¢ |
| 47 | Louisiana | 5% | 18% | Natural gas 72.1% | 103 TWh | 14.15¢ |
| 48 | Delaware | 3.5% | 3.5% | Natural gas 85.3% | 5 TWh | 19.38¢ |
| 49 | Pennsylvania | 3.4% | 33.7% | Natural gas 58.3% | 247 TWh | 21.55¢ |
| 50 | New Jersey | 3.3% | 49.2% | Natural gas 48.6% | 61 TWh | 23.27¢ |
| 51 | Connecticut | 3.1% | 40.9% | Natural gas 56.2% | 44 TWh | 27.37¢ |
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Operational Data, net generation, all sectors. Retrieved 2026-09-09. Carbon-free includes nuclear; renewable does not.
Biggest producers
Output tracks population and industry, not price. Several of the largest generators export a substantial share of what they make to neighbouring states.
| # | State | Output | Largest source | Renewable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 591 TWh | Natural gas 48.8% | 32.2% |
| 2 | Florida | 268 TWh | Natural gas 72.9% | 9.9% |
| 3 | Pennsylvania | 247 TWh | Natural gas 58.3% | 3.4% |
| 4 | California | 206 TWh | Natural gas 35.6% | 54.7% |
| 5 | Illinois | 193 TWh | Nuclear 50.5% | 16.3% |
| 6 | Ohio | 147 TWh | Natural gas 54.7% | 7.8% |
| 7 | Georgia | 147 TWh | Natural gas 38.8% | 12.7% |
| 8 | Alabama | 142 TWh | Natural gas 45.6% | 9% |
| 9 | North Carolina | 135 TWh | Natural gas 40% | 14.4% |
| 10 | New York | 132 TWh | Natural gas 47.2% | 28.9% |
| 11 | Michigan | 128 TWh | Natural gas 41.5% | 12.3% |
| 12 | Arizona | 117 TWh | Natural gas 45.1% | 20.5% |
| 13 | Indiana | 110 TWh | Coal 44.9% | 15.8% |
| 14 | Virginia | 106 TWh | Natural gas 57.3% | 12.4% |
| 15 | South Carolina | 105 TWh | Nuclear 54.2% | 7% |
Cleanest and dirtiest grids
Most renewable
Least renewable
Frequently asked questions
What generates most American electricity?
Natural gas, at 40.8% of net generation in 2025, followed by Nuclear at 17.7% and Coal at 16.6%.
Which state uses the most renewable energy?
Vermont, where renewables supplied 97.5% of generation. South Dakota (81.2%) and Washington (73.1%) follow. States at the top of this list are usually there because of hydroelectric dams built decades ago rather than recent wind or solar.
Does a cleaner grid mean cheaper electricity?
Not reliably, in either direction. Hydro states are both very clean and very cheap, because paid-off dams have no fuel cost. Iowa is heavily wind powered and cheap. California has a clean grid and the highest mainland rates, for reasons that have almost nothing to do with generation. What a state burns matters, but what it spends on wires, wildfire and policy programmes often matters more.
Why is nuclear counted separately from renewables?
Because it is carbon-free at the point of generation but not renewable. Conflating the two produces misleading numbers in either direction, so both shares are published: the renewable share excludes nuclear, the carbon-free share includes it.
Does a state consume what it generates?
No. Electricity crosses state lines constantly. North Dakota and Wyoming generate far more than they use and export the surplus; the District of Columbia generates almost nothing and imports nearly all of it. Generation describes what a state produces, not what its households consume.