Where Arkansas Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, June 2025 – May 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 37.0% | 25,035 GWh |
| Coal | 28.2% | 19,107 GWh |
| Nuclear | 20.9% | 14,113 GWh |
| Wind | 0.6% | 402 GWh |
| Solar | 7.6% | 5,121 GWh |
| Hydro | 4.4% | 2,950 GWh |
| Other | 1.4% | 949 GWh |
67.7 TWh generated over the 12 months to May 2026. Shares are of net generation within Arkansas, 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. Arkansas generated 603 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 7.6% to 8.4%.
How the mix has shifted since 2016
| Source | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 30.1% | 33.1% | +3.0 pts |
| Coal | 39.4% | 30.6% | −8.8 pts |
| Nuclear | 22.2% | 22.8% | +0.6 pts |
| Wind | 0.0% | 0.3% | +0.3 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 6.9% | +6.9 pts |
| Hydro | 5.9% | 4.8% | −1.1 pts |
| Other | 2.4% | 1.5% | −0.9 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
Arkansas's generation mix in context
Natural gas generates 37% of Arkansas's electricity, the largest share of the state's 67.7 TWh total since June 2025. Carbon-free sources — nuclear and renewables combined — account for 34.6%, while fossil fuels make up 65.3%. The renewable share stands at 13.8%, ranking Arkansas 32nd among the 51 states and DC with generation data.
Solar dominates Arkansas's renewable output. Utility-scale solar alone supplies 7.6% of generation, or 8.4% when rooftop solar is included in the calculation. This solar performance ranks 19th nationally. Hydroelectric generation contributes 4.4%, with wind at 0.6%.
Over the decade from 2016 to 2025, Arkansas's generation mix has shifted markedly. Renewable generation grew from 8.2% in 2016 to 13.3% in 2025, a gain of 5.1 percentage points driven almost entirely by solar, which rose from nothing to 6.9%. Coal's share fell steeply by 8.8 points to 30.6%, while natural gas gained 3 points to 33.1%. Among six neighbouring states, three have higher renewable shares and three lower. Oklahoma and Texas lead with 48.3% and 33.7% respectively, while Louisiana trails at 5.1%.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through May 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of Arkansas's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of Arkansas's power comes from solar?
›Where does Arkansas get most of its electricity?
›Does Arkansas still burn coal for electricity?
›Is Arkansas 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.