Where Arizona Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 45.1% | 53,611 GWh |
| Coal | 7.0% | 8,309 GWh |
| Nuclear | 26.2% | 31,148 GWh |
| Wind | 2.9% | 3,413 GWh |
| Solar | 15.2% | 18,040 GWh |
| Hydro | 4.0% | 4,795 GWh |
| Other | -0.4% | -520 GWh |
118.8 TWh generated over the 12 months to August 2026. Shares are of net generation within Arizona, which is not the same as what the state consumes — power crosses state lines.
Counting rooftop solar
EIA reports small-scale solar — mostly rooftop panels on homes and businesses — separately, and leaves it out of the state generation total that the mix above is a share of. Arizona generated 6,060 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 15.2% to 19.3%.
How the mix has shifted since 2001
| Source | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 14.3% | 45.1% | +30.8 pts |
| Coal | 44.6% | 7.9% | −36.7 pts |
| Nuclear | 31.9% | 26.8% | −5.1 pts |
| Wind | 0.0% | 2.7% | +2.7 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 13.4% | +13.4 pts |
| Hydro | 8.5% | 4.2% | −4.3 pts |
| Other | 0.7% | -0.1% | −0.8 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
| Where | Renewable | Carbon-free | Largest source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 22.3% | 48.5% | Natural gas 45.1% |
| U.S. average | 25.4% | 43.0% | Natural gas 40.9% |
| California | 56.8% | 66.1% | Natural gas |
| New Mexico | 54.5% | 54.5% | Wind |
| Colorado | 48.7% | 48.7% | Natural gas |
| Nevada | 42.1% | 42.1% | Natural gas |
| Utah | 23.0% | 23.0% | Natural gas |
Arizona's generation mix in context
Natural gas supplied 45.1% of Arizona's electricity generation in the trailing twelve months to August 2026, making it the largest source by a substantial margin. Nuclear power was the second-largest, accounting for 26.2% of generation. The carbon-free share, combining nuclear with renewable sources, reached 48.5%, while fossil fuels supplied 52.1%.
Renewable sources generated 22.3% of the state's electricity, placing Arizona 25th among the 50 states and DC. Solar was by far the dominant renewable, contributing 15.2% of total generation from utility-scale facilities, or 19.3% when small-scale rooftop solar is included in the calculation. Wind and hydroelectric power each supplied smaller shares, at 2.9% and 4.0% respectively. The renewable share lagged the national average of 25.4% by 3.1 percentage points.
Arizona's generation mix has shifted markedly since 2001. Coal's share collapsed from 44.6% in 2001 to 7.9% in 2025, a decline of 36.7 percentage points. Gas surged upward, rising 30.8 percentage points to 45.1% in 2025. Solar emerged from nothing to become a significant generator, reaching 13.4% in 2025. Renewables overall grew from 8.5% in 2001 to 20.4% in 2025. All five bordering states—California, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada and Utah—hold higher renewable shares than Arizona, with New Mexico's wind-dominated mix reaching 54.5%.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of Arizona's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of Arizona's power comes from solar?
›Where does Arizona get most of its electricity?
›Does Arizona still burn coal for electricity?
›Is Arizona getting greener?
How this is measured
Figures are net generation reported to the U.S. Energy Information Administration for all sectors — utilities, independent power producers, and industrial and commercial plants that generate their own power. Shares are of the 12 months to August 2026, rather than a single month, because generation is strongly seasonal: solar peaks in summer and hydro with the spring melt, so one month says more about the weather than about the grid.
“Other” is the reported total minus the six named sources, so the shares add to exactly 100%. It holds geothermal, biomass, petroleum, other gases, and pumped storage — the last of which consumes more electricity than it returns, and so can be negative. Geothermal and biomass are renewable, which is why the renewable share above is slightly larger than wind, solar and hydro added together.
This is generation, not consumption. Electricity crosses state lines freely, so a state can generate more than it uses or rely on imports for a large part of its supply; neither shows up here.