Where Arizona Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, June 2025 – May 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 45.1% | 52,897 GWh |
| Coal | 6.9% | 8,131 GWh |
| Nuclear | 26.6% | 31,206 GWh |
| Wind | 2.6% | 3,103 GWh |
| Solar | 14.6% | 17,161 GWh |
| Hydro | 4.4% | 5,149 GWh |
| Other | -0.2% | -288 GWh |
117.4 TWh generated over the 12 months to May 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 5,974 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 14.6% to 18.8%.
How the mix has shifted since 2016
| Source | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 31.4% | 45.1% | +13.7 pts |
| Coal | 28.0% | 7.9% | −20.1 pts |
| Nuclear | 29.8% | 26.8% | −3.0 pts |
| Wind | 0.5% | 2.7% | +2.2 pts |
| Solar | 3.5% | 13.4% | +9.9 pts |
| Hydro | 6.6% | 4.2% | −2.4 pts |
| Other | 0.3% | -0.1% | −0.4 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
| Where | Renewable | Carbon-free | Largest source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 21.8% | 48.4% | Natural gas 45.1% |
| U.S. average | 24.9% | 42.6% | Natural gas 40.8% |
| California | 57.3% | 66.5% | Natural gas |
| New Mexico | 52.7% | 52.7% | Wind |
| Colorado | 46.5% | 46.5% | Natural gas |
| Nevada | 43.7% | 43.7% | Natural gas |
| Utah | 22.6% | 22.6% | Coal |
Arizona's generation mix in context
Natural gas supplied 45.1% of Arizona's electricity generation in the twelve months from June 2025 to May 2026, making it the state's largest source. Nuclear power accounted for 26.6%, while solar generated 14.6% on a utility-scale basis, or 18.8% when rooftop solar is included. Together, renewables made up 21.8% of the state's generation, placing it 24th among the 51 states and DC, and carbon-free sources accounted for 48.4%.
Arizona's renewable share fell 3.1 percentage points short of the national average of 24.9%, while its natural gas share exceeded the national figure by 4.3 percentage points. All five bordering states generated a higher share of renewable electricity: California at 57.3%, New Mexico at 52.7%, Colorado at 46.5%, Nevada at 43.7%, and Utah at 22.6%. Solar ranked 6th nationally among the states.
Over the decade from 2016 to 2025, Arizona's generation mix shifted decisively. Renewables grew from 10.7% in 2016 to 20.4% in 2025, a gain of 9.7 percentage points driven chiefly by solar, which rose from 3.5% to 13.4%. Natural gas climbed from 31.4% to 45.1%, an increase of 13.7 percentage points, while coal collapsed from 28.0% to 7.9%, a decline of 20.1 percentage points. Nuclear fell 3.0 percentage points to 26.8%, and hydroelectric dropped 2.4 percentage points to 4.2%..
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through May 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 May 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.