What each state’s power plants run on
Natural gas is the largest source of generating capacity in 33 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the 2025 EIA-860 data. Wind leads in five states, hydropower in five and coal in six. The mix ranges from Delaware, where natural gas is 87% of capacity, to Maine, where the largest source is only 26%.
These are shares of installed nameplate capacity, not of electricity produced. A state with a large wind fleet can still get most of its power from gas or nuclear in a given year, because wind turbines run only when the wind blows. Capacity is what is built; it is the measure EIA-860 reports.
The leaders outside natural gas
Wind leads in Iowa, Kansas, New Mexico, North Dakota and South Dakota. Hydropower leads in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. Coal still leads in Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, West Virginia and Wyoming. In the District of Columbia the largest source is solar. In Hawaii the largest source is oil and petroleum.
State by state
| State | Largest source | Share | Second source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Natural gas | 53% | Nuclear 17% |
| Alaska | Natural gas | 45% | Oil and petroleum 27% |
| Arizona | Natural gas | 43% | Solar 17% |
| Arkansas | Natural gas | 38% | Coal 29% |
| California | Natural gas | 37% | Solar 23% |
| Colorado | Natural gas | 35% | Wind 24% |
| Connecticut | Natural gas | 49% | Oil and petroleum 23% |
| Delaware | Natural gas | 87% | Other sources 5% |
| District of Columbia | Solar | 48% | Natural gas 32% |
| Florida | Natural gas | 69% | Solar 15% |
| Georgia | Natural gas | 44% | Nuclear 15% |
| Hawaii | Oil and petroleum | 56% | Solar 16% |
| Idaho | Hydroelectric | 42% | Natural gas 20% |
| Illinois | Natural gas | 36% | Nuclear 24% |
| Indiana | Coal | 41% | Natural gas 30% |
| Iowa | Wind | 54% | Coal 21% |
| Kansas | Wind | 46% | Coal 23% |
| Kentucky | Coal | 46% | Natural gas 43% |
| Louisiana | Natural gas | 71% | Coal 8% |
| Maine | Natural gas | 26% | Wind 20% |
| Maryland | Natural gas | 47% | Nuclear 14% |
| Massachusetts | Natural gas | 51% | Oil and petroleum 14% |
| Michigan | Natural gas | 42% | Coal 18% |
| Minnesota | Natural gas | 32% | Wind 25% |
| Mississippi | Natural gas | 71% | Coal 9% |
| Missouri | Coal | 39% | Natural gas 29% |
| Montana | Hydroelectric | 35% | Wind 28% |
| Nebraska | Coal | 33% | Wind 29% |
| Nevada | Natural gas | 48% | Solar 29% |
| New Hampshire | Natural gas | 31% | Nuclear 27% |
| New Jersey | Natural gas | 68% | Nuclear 20% |
| New Mexico | Wind | 32% | Natural gas 26% |
| New York | Natural gas | 55% | Hydroelectric 11% |
| North Carolina | Natural gas | 48% | Solar 18% |
| North Dakota | Wind | 43% | Coal 37% |
| Ohio | Natural gas | 54% | Coal 20% |
| Oklahoma | Natural gas | 46% | Wind 38% |
| Oregon | Hydroelectric | 44% | Natural gas 23% |
| Pennsylvania | Natural gas | 56% | Nuclear 20% |
| Rhode Island | Natural gas | 77% | Solar 18% |
| South Carolina | Natural gas | 29% | Nuclear 25% |
| South Dakota | Wind | 45% | Hydroelectric 21% |
| Tennessee | Natural gas | 32% | Coal 24% |
| Texas | Natural gas | 42% | Wind 22% |
| Utah | Natural gas | 36% | Solar 27% |
| Vermont | Hydroelectric | 36% | Solar 17% |
| Virginia | Natural gas | 48% | Solar 17% |
| Washington | Hydroelectric | 68% | Natural gas 13% |
| West Virginia | Coal | 81% | Natural gas 9% |
| Wisconsin | Natural gas | 41% | Coal 25% |
| Wyoming | Coal | 43% | Wind 37% |
Natural gas leads in 33 places, and gas plants exist in 49 of the 51. In 22 of the places where it leads, its share is below 50%, so the second source is often not far behind. In most places where gas is not first, the leader is a resource tied to place: wind, rivers or coal.
How fast the mix changes
Each state page includes a chart of capacity by the decade it came online. In 47 of the 51, solar, wind and batteries make up most of the capacity that came online from 2020 on. Because new solar and battery capacity is added at a rate of tens of gigawatts a year nationally (see additions and retirements), state rankings in this table can change from one data year to the next.
To compare two states directly, open their pages from the state map, or filter the plant finder by state and fuel.
How many fuels a state relies on
Counting the fuel groups that each hold at least 5% of a state’s capacity gives a simple measure of how mixed its fleet is. The most mixed fleets have six such groups: Arizona, Maine, Michigan, Missouri and New York. At the other end, Delaware has only one. A high count does not mean a state is better supplied; it means no single technology dominates its installed base.
Close calls
In four states, the leading source is less than five percentage points ahead of the second. These are the places where one year of additions or retirements can change the order in this table.
| State | Leader | Second | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | Coal | Natural gas | 3.2 points |
| New Hampshire | Natural gas | Nuclear | 3.5 points |
| Nebraska | Coal | Wind | 3.6 points |
| South Carolina | Natural gas | Nuclear | 4.0 points |
The smallest fleets
At the small end, the District of Columbia (19 plants, 70.5 MW), Vermont (117 plants, 899 MW) and Rhode Island (112 plants, 2,577 MW) have the least installed capacity. Small fleets can swing the most in this table: in the District of Columbia, the largest source holds 48% of capacity, so a single new project of a few megawatts can change the leader. Shares for these places are best read together with the plant list on their state page.
Where the other fuels weigh most
The leading fuel hides a lot. Nuclear is the leader nowhere, yet it holds a quarter or more of capacity in two places: New Hampshire (27%) and South Carolina (25%). Solar reaches a fifth or more of capacity in the District of Columbia (48%), Nevada (29%), Utah (27%), California (23%) and New Mexico (21%). Battery storage, which barely existed a decade ago, is already above 8% in Hawaii (14%), California (14%), Arizona (12%) and Nevada (9%). Coal still makes up 30% or more of the fleet in West Virginia (81%), Kentucky (46%), Wyoming (43%), Indiana (41%), Missouri (39%), North Dakota (37%) and Nebraska (33%).
These lists move at different speeds: solar and battery shares rise with each year of additions, while a coal share falls only when units retire or when the rest of the fleet grows around them. Each state page shows the full split in its fuel bar and the decade chart below it, with retired capacity at plants that still operate drawn under the line.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-860 (Annual Electric Generator Report), 2025 final data (Sep 2026). Downloaded 2026-10-28. Figures are computed by GridPlants from the plant, generator and ownership files; see how to read the data.